Bruises on My Heart
by Bl00dyShad0w
Summary: Lucy was abused by her father for most of her young life. After being casted into the a world which she does not know, Lucy has to step out of her comfort zone to attend Fairy Tail High. Her noticeable scars and bruises makes her insecure, but she is seated next to a loud, carefree, pink-haired guy with a white scarf. Both have dark pasts, but can they overcome it together? AU!
1. The Start

**What's better than writing a sad story for Christmas? **

**Aah...it's been a while since I wrote a messed up story.**

**I'm actually super excited to write this story, since half of the first chapter has been sitting in my computer all lonely and stuff for a year! I hope you guys will enjoy this as much as I will!**

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"Mommy!" cried a little girl excitedly as she raised her arms up to be picked up by the tall blonde woman.

"Lucy," said the woman with a smile. "You're going to grow up to be a beautiful woman."

"Like you, mommy!"

"Yes," said her father as he stepped into the picture. "Just like your mother."

They were the picture perfect family. They had wealth, health, and happiness. Until everything started to get fuzzy when Layla was involved in a major car accident. She was rushed to the hospital right away. By the time her husband arrived, she was gone.

Jude cried out in agony.

Back at the mansion, Lucy was in the arms of the young pink haired maid, Virgo.

"What happened to my mommy? Why did daddy look so scared when he got that phone call?"

A tear rolled down Virgo's cheek as she fought back the sobs. She embraced the child.

Years passed. Lucy was still living in the mansion, but the problem was whenever her dad saw her, he would hurt her in some way. Lucy has suffered through the physical and emotional pain. She would cry herself to sleep every night, praying that when she'd wake up, she'd be in a better place.

Lucy was homeschooled by Virgo. She was a great teacher, but Lucy would notice her tense up whenever her father was around. Part was due to the fact that she knew what Jude was doing to his daughter, and the other part was something else.

One night, by chance, Lucy saw what was happening between them. Her father was abusing her sexually. He had her pinned to the floor, naked. Tears rolled down her cheek.

"Make one sound," said Jude as he tightened his grip on the young maid with one hand and pulled down his pants with the other, "and I will whip you."

Covering her mouth to keep from screaming, Lucy ran to her room, locked the door, slid down, buried her head into her knees, and started crying.

"Why did you have to leave, mom?" she choked out.

A few more years passed. Lucy was now a beautiful seventeen year old woman.

During one of her sessions with Virgo, her dad came into the room. Virgo diverted her eyes quickly. Jude glanced at her for a moment and then looked at his daughter who was slightly shaking in fear.

"Lucy, come to my study. I need to have a word with you," he said before turning and walking out.

Lucy and Virgo looked at each other worriedly. They didn't know what to expect.

Finally, Virgo took Lucy's hands and said, "It will be alright, Lucy. I'm still here."

The young blonde nodded and headed to her father's study.

"Yes, father?" she asked when she stood at the middle of the floor. She tried standing up straight and tried looking fearless, but she could feel her legs shaking underneath her frilly fuchsia dress.

"I'm sending you to Fairy Tail High."

The words didn't sink into her for a while, due to his straightforwardness. She felt very confused. Lucy's eyebrows knitted as she stared at her father who was staring out his big window. Looking anywhere else but at his only daughter.

"Fairy Tail…High?"

"It's a high school far away. I've already bought a house for you near there."

"I'm…leaving?"

"Yes. You need to learn how to live out in the world on your own."

Tears blurred Lucy's vision. She clenched her shaking fists and bit her trembling lip. She couldn't believe her own father was throwing her out into the world like that by herself. A world which she has never known.

At this point, rage was consuming her mind. She held herself back all those years because she felt bad for him. But now, after all he's done, she just couldn't take another minute of it.

"_Good!_" she shrieked, making her father turn to face her.

"Young ladies shouldn't raise their voice to their parent in such manner. You disappoint me, Lucy."

"You're just throwing me out so that you can have more time to _fuck_ Virgo, is that it? Why must you treat us like you have? Mom's gone! She's never coming back! I've accepted this _years_ ago, so why can't you?"

After a few moments of silence, Lucy finally realized what she has done and hung her head.

"I'm sorry," she said as her tears rolled down her cheeks and dropped onto the red carpet, leaving a water mark.

She started trembling as she heard her father's footsteps coming towards her.

Back in the library, Virgo heard Lucy scream, glass shattering, and then a thud. Virgo sobbed as she hugged herself tightly. She has always wanted to run away with Lucy ever since her father became abusive, but since he was wealthy, she figured he would just hire professionals to bring them back. Or maybe even kill them.

After what seemed to be hours, the screaming finally stopped.

Lucy boarded the midnight train in her casual attire. Her things would be sent to her later in the morning by Virgo. When she sat down on one of the padded chairs, she sighed in relief. She was finally free, though she couldn't help but worry about Virgo.

She rubbed her now bandaged arm. When her dad attacked her, she accidentally knocked a vase over and fell on the shattered pieces, causing her arm to be badly cut. To top it all off, her father still hit her. There were new bruises on her face and on her good arm. He made her swear that if anyone ever asks about the bruises or scars, she's say that she was a bad girl and got into a fight.

The few passengers on the train stared at her sadly.

Finally, the train whistle signaled that it was about to take off. She could see the mansion from where she was sitting. She felt the train move and she watched as the mansion she has lived in her whole life disappear from her eyes for the first time.

She woke up when she heard the train conductor shout, "Magnolia! We have arrived at the Magnolia station!"

Lucy got up and quickly got out the train. She looked around. The station was buzzing with life; something which she has never really seen before, save the occasional balls her father would host.

She took a piece of paper that Virgo gave her with her new address. Lucy sighed.

After getting lost multiple times, she finally arrived at her destination. It wasn't a mansion, but it was fairly big.

"At least he gave me a place to live," Lucy said to herself as she took out the house key.

When she got inside, she noticed that a lot of her things had already been moved into the spacious living room. Each room was fortunately furnished.

She went upstairs to find a bedroom since she had three to choose from. She picked the one that had the larger window.

Lucy collapsed on the white sheeted bed and sighed happily. "No more abuse!"

But then after a while, she started crying. She left Virgo alone with her monster of a father. Clenching the sheets she said, "I swear I'll get you out of there, Virgo."

Her cellphone rang. She grabbed it out of her pocket and looked at the caller I.D. It was from the mansion, which meant it was most likey from Virgo. She had to be careful when talking to her since she knew her dad monitored their calls.

"Virgo!" she cried out happily after she pressed the talk button.

"Lucy! How are you?"

"I just got here. How are you?"

Lucy heard Virgo sigh sadly on the other line. The blonde bit her lip to keep from saying anything that would make her father mad.

"There is money in your pink luggage and I shall be sending you more soon. You should use some to buy your school supplies."

"I don't want to go to school…"

"I know…But I'm sure you'll make a lot of friends! Maybe you'll even get a boyfriend!"

"Virgo…"

She heard her father say something to the pink haired maid that she couldn't quite decipher.

"I have to go," whispered Virgo sadly.

Before Lucy could have time to respond, Virgo hung up. Lucy listened to the nothingness before finally putting her phone down on the bed. She went downstairs to get her stuff and put things away.

Lucy went into the bathroom to look how bad her face was. It was still horrible to look at. She sighed heavily and tried her best to cover her face with her bangs so she could go out without getting weird looks. After deciding that it was no use, she put on a black cap, white jacket, grabbed her purse, and headed out to get some food from the nearest store.

Lucy knew how to cook, thanks to a certain pink haired maid. The blonde bought herself a variety of vegetables, meat, and of course a bunch of sweets and snacks.

The people in the store would look at her curiously since they haven't seen a girl like her before. Some guys tried to get a look at her face, but it was covered by her hair and hat.

"Hello there, miss," said a masculine voice behind her as Lucy put a gallon of milk in her cart.

Lucy turned around to face a largely built man with a nose ring like a cow's. He wore a white shirt and khaki shorts. The blonde raised a brow. "Yes?"

"You have a very sexy body!"

Ignoring him, Lucy pushed the cart forward, leaving the strange man standing there, scratching his head. She finished checking out and walked out of the store with multiple bags in each hand. Lucy was a lot stronger than she appeared to be, since Virgo would make her work out a bunch.

"That damn Natsu! Always thinking that he's better than me!" growled a man walking past Lucy. Beside him was a blue haired girl.

"Gajeel," she started, "Natsu is Natsu. End of explanation."

"That doesn't mean he had to steal my spot light in the talent show at the bar!" then the man with long, spiky black hair mumbled, "he's not that good at singing anyways."

"Neither are you," said the girl with blue hair as she placed her hands on her slender hips. "You guys weren't even allowed in the bar!"

The man, known as Gajeel, growled at her.

One of the bags Lucy was carrying ripped and its contents fell onto the ground. The blonde swore and gently let go of the other bags she was carrying onto the floor.

"Uh-oh!" said the blue haired girl. "Don't worry! I'll go in and grab you a new bag!" she ran into the store while Gajeel came up to Lucy.

"Yo, you okay? I'll help you when Levy comes back with the bag."

Lucy ignored him and continued to slowly pick up her groceries with her head down. She did not expect this.

"Hey, did you hear me?"

Gajeel was about to place his hand on her shoulder, but sensing this, Lucy flinched away on instinct. The man brought his hand back and stared at the girl beneath him in surprise.

Lucy looked up. His face was covered in piercings, but Gajeel was taken aback by Lucy's bruised face and held a look of surprise.

"I got the bag!" came Levy as she ran over to the two. Lucy quickly looked back down. Feeling the aura changed, Levy was about to ask what happened when Gajeel grabbed the bag out of his companion's hand. "Hey!" she cried and then pouted.

"Here," said Gajeel softly as he knelt down and started placing the stuff that fell out into the new bag. Lucy place what was in her hands inside as well. "I'll help you carry this stuff to your place if you want."

"N…No…No thanks…" Lucy felt strange talking with someone other than Virgo and her father. "I can handle it from here…"

"Alright…"

"U-Umm…" started Levy awkwardly as she watched the blonde woman stand up with her bags of groceries. "What is your name? I'm Levy, and this is Gajeel!"

Lucy turned and walked away, leaving Levy stunned. "Well! I never!"

"Lev," started Gajeel. She looked at him as he shook his head and walked away. "Wait up!" she called before running after him.

Lucy walked as quickly as she could without seeming too conspicuous. Her groceries hit her leg as she passed through the crowds. Finally, she reached home. After putting all the stuff away, she took out her phone from her pocket and saw that she had a missed call from the mansion. She quickly called back, but received no answer. Worried, she dialed once more.

"Virgo…" Lucy whispered as she clutched her phone tightly.

After hanging her new uniform up and putting her school supplies together, Lucy got the bath ready. She took the bandage off her deep cut from the vase, cleaned it, and then put a new bandage on before stepping into the hot water. She looked at the bruises and cuts on her arms and legs. Lucy let her bad arm hang off the edge of the bath.

"How the hell am I supposed to get Virgo out?" Lucy asked herself. She tried to think of different scenarios, but they all ended badly.

Lucy got out of the bath and changed into her nigh clothes. She didn't sleep that night.

The next morning, she took care of her hygiene and then put her uniform on. It included a white button up shirt with the school emblem stitched on the left breast, a pale blue skirt, dark blue below-the-knee socks, and black shoes.

Lucy tried to hide up the cuts and scars as best as she could by applying make-up on them, but it didn't work out so well. She thought up of lies to tell her classmates if they decided to ask what was wrong with her.

"I should act like a rebel that just got into a gang fight or something," she mumbled to herself as she fastened her shoes on.

Lucy grabbed her bag and left her home.

Noticing a small group of teenagers wearing the same uniform, Lucy followed closely. She clutched her bag tightly, afraid of what she would experience today since it was her first day at a public school. She wished that her mom was there to send her off.

She wished her mom never died.

_Why did she have to go?_ She thought to herself. _Why not me? _The same questions have been circling in her mind since the day she realized the tragedy that befell her parent.

Lucy stopped when she abruptly slammed into the back of one of the teenagers.

"_Woah, _what the hell?" came the silver-haired male. He turned to see Lucy jump back.

"S-Sorry!" she stammered as she quickly walked past him.

When Lucy was out of earshot, the male's female companion with pink hair asked, "Do you know her, Lyon? I don't think I've seen her around before. She seems pretty…sketchy."

"I haven't," replied Lyon as he kept staring at the girl's retreating figure. "But did you see the cuts on that one? I wonder if she got into a really bad fight. Maybe she was transferred here because she got kicked out of her old school."

"You're reading into things too much," said another male companion with spiky blue hair and bushy eyebrows.

"What do you think happened then, Yuka?" asked the female with pink hair.

"I don't want to assume, Sherry."

Lucy felt lost now that she didn't have the group of teenagers guiding her to the school. She searched the area for anyone else wearing the same uniform as her. After turning a corner, she spotted a male and a female in uniform. The two spotted Lucy.

It was Levy and Gajeel.

"_Fuck_," Lucy whispered under her breath. She was about to turn around and leave when Levy called out for her.

"Hey! Hey, please wait!"

Lucy stopped, but didn't turn around as the blue-haired girl ran up to her. "I know you! We met each other yesterday! I had no idea you were going to study at the same school as us!"

Lucy didn't say a word.

Gajeel's footsteps could be heard as he came closer. "You lost or somethin'?" he questioned.

"Yes," replied Lucy with her back still turned. "I just need directions so-"

"It's rude to have your back facing people who are talking to you," said Gajeel. "We already saw your cuts and bruises yesterday, so there is no point in hiding them now. We won't ask if you don't want us to."

"Gajeel!" scolded Levy as she smacked his arm, which had no effect on the large, muscular man.

"No, he's right," sighed Lucy as she turned around. "I'm sorry. Just…I just need directions."

"How about you follow us?" offered Levy with a smile.

Lucy couldn't help but stare. She felt her heart swell up as she looked at Levy's smiling face. The last person who has smiled at her since her mom passed away had been Virgo.

Levy's bright expression turned into worry as she noticed Lucy's eyes water. Her eyebrows knitted together, and she was about to ask if something was wrong when Gajeel nudged her with his elbow.

Regaining her composure Lucy asked, "So, where is school?"

She followed her two companions to a large, gothic-like building. The large, pointy black gates were pushed in, letting students flock inside. The school's emblem was carved on the center of the large building.

"Do you know what class you're going to be in?" asked Levy.

"I'm a second-year," responded Lucy as she kept her eyes glued on the large building. Her stomach turned in knots as she pictured her peers make fun of her and her scars.

"There are three different classes for second-years," said Gajeel. "Do you have the paper that told you what class you were in?"

"Um…" Lucy hiked her knee up as she dug through her bag to find the paper. She fished out the small sheet and handed it to Gajeel.

Levy stood on the tips of her toes to get a better look, but she gave up.

"Class 2-B," said Gajeel as he handed the paper back. "Same class that me and Levy are in. I don't know whether to feel sorry for you or not."

"Wh-What do you mean by that?"

Gajeel and Levy looked at each other and then back at Lucy. Levy scratched the back of her head and said, "Well…our classmates are a little…rowdy? Even Gajeel here gets crazy in the classroom some times."

"Hey," he snapped, crossing his arms. "That pink-haired idiot starts it."

There was a loud sound of bells chiming.

"Well, we'd better get to class before Gildarts throws a fit," said Gajeel as he started walking towards the gates.

"That's Mr. Clive to you!" called Levy. She jogged towards her male companion, but stopped and turned around to look at Lucy who had her head down, and was still in the same position as she was in earlier. Levy jogged back. "You know," she started with a smile. "I never got a chance to learn your name."

Lucy looked up into Levy's dark eyes. There was a kind of warmth that made Lucy trust her.

"Lucy," said the blonde as she looked at the school. "We need to go."

"I agree."

The two girls ran into the building together, passing Gajeel who held a look of annoyance. Levy showed Lucy to the east wing on the second floor, and they ran to the last classroom down the hall.

The two stayed by the door for a few moments to catch their breath. After looking each other in the eye, the two burst out into giggles.

"I'm so out of shape!" exclaimed the blue hair girl as she attempted to smooth out her wild locks.

"So am I!"

Lucy almost forgot what it felt like to giggle.

"Okay girls," started Gajeel as he stepped into view. "Get in the classroom before the bell rings."

"Yes, sir!" responded Levy with a salute, causing Gajeel to roll his eyes.

Upon walking into the room, Lucy realized that she had no idea where her seat was. There was no place where she could put her head down and cover it. She felt naked standing in a room full of strangers.

"Look who finally decided to show up!" exclaimed the man behind the desk, which led Lucy to believe that this was the teacher, Mr. Clive. He was a bit scruffy looking and didn't look like much of a teacher.

"Aw shut it, old man. The bell hasn't even rung yet," countered Gajeel. Lucy was surprised by his boldness.

"Who is this?" asked the teacher, ignoring his student's remark.

Lucy felt as if the whole class has stopped what they were doing to get a good look at her, which they were. They gazed at her bandage and wounds curiously.

Lucy couldn't find the words to speak, and Levy sensed that. "This is Lucy! She's new."

"I can see that," started Gildarts. "But what's up with the b-"

Gajeel shot him a look. "Just tell us where we sit."

The bell rang and everyone stayed silent as they looked at Lucy. Some people whispered to each other.

"Gajeel, you sit at the first desk in the second row. Levy, you sit at the fourth desk in the first row. And Lucy, you-"

The door behind the three teenagers slammed open, and they quickly jumped at the sound. A boy with pink hair rushed past them. His uniform and hair was unkempt and he wore a white scarf. "I tripped up the stair on my way here, Gildarts! Don't mark me late!"

The teacher's eye twitched. "Just get to your seat, Natsu. Fifth seat, last row."

Natsu made his way over to his desk, followed by Levy and Gajeel.

"Mr. Clive!" exclaimed Levy once she sat down and realized that Lucy never learned her seat. "You never told Lucy were she sits!"

Gildarts looked at Lucy. "Last seat, last row. Next to Natsu. Good luck."

Lucy looked up at her new neighbor. The pink-haired boy grinned widely and waved at her. Lucy didn't know whether to feel welcomed or worried.

She sat down at her seat which was right next to the window. After she placed her bag on the hook attached to the desk, Gildarts stood up to talk. He talked about which teachers would be circling their class, but Lucy quickly forgot their names.

After drowning out the sound of Gildarts' voice, Lucy focused her attention to the scenery past the window. She was gifted with the view of the school's Fairy Tail fountain, surrounded by lush, green plants. Colorful flowers bloomed everywhere, and Lucy wondered what it would take to get into this school if you weren't wealthy.

"_Lucy, right?_" whispered the male next to her.

The young blonde turned her head slightly to see Natsu leaning towards her a bit. She felt awkward.

"_My name is Natsu Dragneel,_" continued the boy. "_Where are you from?"_

Lucy was too afraid to respond, but luckily, Mr. Clive saved her. "Natsu!" he called. "Shut it!"

"I was only whispering!" whined Natsu as he sat back upright. "Give me a break, would ya? It's only the first day of school!"

"Which is exactly why I need to start training you now!" The teacher started gathering his things after seeing that his time was about up.

A black-haired male sitting a row in front of Lucy and Natsu scoffed. "He's just like a puppy."

"What was that, Gray?" challenged Natsu as he shot up from his chair. The sudden movement caused Lucy to flinch and inch closer to the wall.

"You heard me, flame-brain!" the boy known as Gray stood up as well and faced Natsu. His shirt was unbuttoned enough that you could see his abs.

"That is enough!" called Gildarts, slamming his palm onto the wooden teacher's desk. "Both of you are acting like puppies! Now sit down and wait for the next teacher! Or do I have to babysit you? And both of you need to fix your uniforms properly!"

The two boys glared at each other as they fixed their shirts. Natsu tucked it in his pants in while Gray buttoned up his, causing some girls in the room to pout.

After sitting down, the next teacher came in. You could smell him before you could see him. Lucy covered her nose as a wave of perfume hit her like a tidal wave. A short man with red hair came into view. He was wearing a white dress shirt, black pants, and shiny black shoes. Gildarts towered over him.

"I am ready to take over now, men!" exclaimed the stout man as he spun himself around a couple times.

"Good luck," said Gildarts as he started heading out.

"Thank you," said the shorter man. "I may need it, men!"

Gildarts stopped at the open doorway and gave the other teacher a side-ways glance. "I wasn't talking to you."

The other teacher gulped as if he feared Mr. Clive. After straightening himself, he cleared his throat and said, "Good-morning, men! For those of you who don't know me, my name is Ichiya Kotobuki! I will be your English teacher, men!"

Lucy stared at Ichiya in wonder, and questioned why he said "men" a lot. After slowly taking her hands away from her nose, Lucy let out a loud sneeze.

"Oh, men!" exclaimed Ichiya as he skipped towards Lucy with a rose in his hand. A rose which had appeared out of nowhere. When Ichiya got to Lucy's desk, he got down on one knee and presented the rose. "For you, the beautiful new student!"

"I wouldn't take that if I were you," commented Natsu. The rest of the students shook their head in agreement.

"Woah," started Ichiya once he noticed the cuts and bruises on Lucy. "What happened?"

The door slammed open, to Lucy's relief. A young woman with long red hair stood before them. Lucy looked at her in awe.

"Sorry I'm late," she started. Her voice was deep. "Student council business." Ezra started walking to the only available seat left, which was by Levy.

"Ezra, my honey!" exclaimed Ichiya as he took himself, and the rose that he offered Lucy, away. He floated to Ezra's desk, but when he got down on one knee to offer the rose, the young woman kicked him in the face.

"Don't make me go to the principal again, creep!" she growled, disgusted.

"_That's Erza," _Natus whispered to Lucy. "_She is a _monster."

A pencil hit him in the face. Lucy looked back over at Ezra to see her nose flared towards the pink-haired boy. "Come again?" she threatened.

After Ichiya regained consciousness, he became semi-serious about teaching. The English books came in and the students got up to get their copy.

Lucy knew how to speak English fluently since it was the first language that she learned, so she knew that she would pass the class easily.

Since it was the first day of school, class was shortened since they would have homeroom again at the end of the day. Teacher after teacher came and went, and Lucy's bag got heavier with books. Natsu kept trying to whisper to Lucy, but he was ignored.

Finally, Gildarts came back.

"So, how has your day been?" he asked. The class groaned in response.

Gray insulted Natsu in some way once again, which caused Natsu to pick up his desk and toss it. Gray, along with everyone around him, jumped out of the way. Gildarts yelled at them, and somehow, Gajeel got into the commotion and got up to punch Gray. Gildarts gave up on being civil and rolled up his sleeves before stomping into the battlefield. He grabbed the closest boys by the ears, which was Gray and Gajeel. He pulled the two out the door and threw them into the hallway. Then he looked at Natsu.

"Okay, okay!" Natsu said as he started walking to the door.

_What the hell just happened_, thought Lucy.

"Anyways," sighed Gildarts as he closed the door behind Natsu. The sound of fighting could be heard in the halls. "Let's discuss about school stuff."

Mr. Clive talked about the school rules, policies, schedules, and vacation days. He passed out a small pamphlet that stated what he already said. "The club fair is tomorrow and will go on for two days. Every single person needs to join one. The bell is going to ring in ten minutes, so I'll leave you all while I go talk to the boys in the hallway."

Levy got up and sat down in Natsu's empty seat. She smiled and said, "Today wasn't so bad. Usually it's so much worse."

"Natsu keeps bugging me," complained Lucy.

Levy laughed. "Yeah. Natsu bugs _everyone_."

"I'm sorry that you had to witness that," said Ezra as she walked up to the two girls. "But Levy is right. It usually is worse. But you learn to get used to it."

Ezra's hard expression that she had when she first came into the room was gone and softened into the big-sisterly type. Lucy gave her a small smile. "I sure hope so," she said.

"From what school did you come from?" asked the scarlet haired woman as she took a seat upon an unoccupied desk.

"I was actually home-schooled. This is my first time at a public school."

Knowing this, Erza's face turned into one of concern, but she immediately shook it off and asked, "Do you at least know anything about the clubs here?"

Lucy played with her finger nails. Talking like this to girls her own age was still weird to her. "I actually know nothing of this school."

"Lucy can join our club, cant she?" asked Levy.

"Of course," responded Erza, "but she should really get a look at all the other clubs before coming to a decision."

"Wh-What club are you guys in?" asked Lucy.

"It's simply called the Fairy Tail Guild. We don't do anything specific. It's sort of an excuse to hang out, but we usually help the student council set up festivities and such," responded Levy.

"Why?" questioned the blonde.

"Because I'm the president of the student council," commented Erza. "And most of the members of the club are…how should I put this nicely? Undisciplined. So I have them do work."

"Yeah, but it's so much fun!" started Levy. "The boys who were just kicked out are part of it. It would be so amazing if you could join, so if the other clubs don't interest you, you will be more than welcome to join us!"

Lucy nodded. She was disappointed that she _had_ to join a club, since she didn't want to converse with people that much. But Erza and Levy seemed really nice. She felt a pang in her heart when she thought of Virgo.

"Is something the matter, Lucy?" questioned Erza. She was about to lean forward to touch her, but upon further thought, she pulled back.

The bell rang, and Lucy was out of the classroom in an instant.

Erza turned to Levy with a worried expression coating her face.

"I don't know, Erza," said Levy with an equally worried expression.

"She said she was home-schooled…" said Erza silently.

Levy's eyes widened. "You couldn't mean…"

Erza sighed and looked towards the door. "I wish it weren't so, but it seems like it."

Upon quickly turning a corner on the first floor, Lucy once again slammed into someone. She was about to fall when Natsu quickly grabbed her shoulders.

Lucy's eyes widened in fear and, out of instinct, she shouted for him to let go and struggled to break free. Lucy slapped his face, which caused Natsu to let go of her out of surprise. Lucy fell onto the ground with a _thud_. Groups of students stopped and stared at the commotion.

"I-I'm sorry!" he stammered as he was about to help her up.

The blonde avoided his eyes and quickly scrambled herself up and then ran. Her arm throbbed. She was pretty sure that the wound re-opened and would take even longer to heal.

Once Lucy got home, she quickly changed the bandage. After that was done, she reached into the pocket in her skirt to grab her phone to call Virgo. The was nothing there but a handkerchief. She went over to her bag and dug through it, and out of frustration, dumped all the contents onto the bed and the floor.

"No…No!" she cried as she sorted through her things for the third time. "_Where is it?_"

She froze.

_I must have dropped it when I ran into Natsu,_ she thought.

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**Oh my God it's finally posted! Hope this was an okay start. I'm still debating the length I want to make this...but I guess it depends how much my readers like it! Please review and follow! **

**Byyye!**

**~Bl00dyshad0w**


	2. It's Alright to Let Others Help You

**Hello and welcome back! **

**Chapter twooooo!**

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Recap:

"No…No!" she cried as she sorted through her things for the third time. "_Where is it?_"

She froze.

_I must have dropped it when I ran into Natsu,_ she thought.

* * *

Lucy paced back and forth in her room. She never locked her phone because her dad forbade it, so Natsu could easily see the messages her dad sent her. None of them were pleasant.

"If I go back, would he still be there?" she asked herself as she bit into her knuckle. She looked at her digital clock and saw that school got out only half an hour ago, and since he got in trouble, he could still possibly be there.

Taking in a deep breath, she left. Lucy ran to school, nearly falling on her way, but she was able to make it in one piece. She leaned against the wall to catch her breath and was about to go inside when she saw Natsu walking towards her with his hands in his pockets. He was looking down and did not notice Lucy in front of him.

"H-Hey!" stammered Lucy. Natsu stopped and looked up. "Do you happen to have my phone? I must have dropped it when I…when I bumped into you."

"Sorry," he replied once he got closer. Lucy felt her heart throb in guilt when she saw a nail mark on his cheek. "Want me to help you find it? It might still be there, or someone turned it in."

"I-It's fine. I've troubled you enough." Lucy was about to make her way past Natsu when he grabbed her good arm.

"It's alright to let others help you," he said quietly.

Lucy stared at him for a moment. She found it strange to see him with such a serious expression when he had a goofy smile on his face all day and was bugging her.

"Thank you…" Lucy finally said which led Natsu to let go. The two went their separate directions.

"Where did I drop it?" Lucy asked herself as she scanned the area where she fell. She got down on her knees and scanned even further.

"Are you looking for this?" A male voice was heard behind her.

Lucy turned her head to see Gray standing above her with her phone in his hand.

"Y-Yeah, that's mine," said Lucy as she stood up and dusted off her skirt. She took her phone back and held it close to her heart. "Thank you."

"It's just a phone," commented Gray as he stuffed both hands into his pockets. "Does it really mean that much to you?"

"When it's the only way to communicate with someone that you love," whispered Lucy as her eyes casted downward. "Yes."

Gray stared hard at her. "What school were you in before?" he asked.

"Um…I was home-schooled," responded Lucy.

"If it isn't Gray," said another male voice. Lucy leaned to the side a bit to see who was coming. It was the guy who she bumped into while coming to school, and she noticed that he was an upperclassman.

"Lyon," mumbled Gray as he gritted his teeth.

"Oh," said the white haired male once he noticed Lucy. "It's you. You guys getting into a fight or something?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Gray once he turned around to get a good look at the upper classman.

"I heard that she is in a gang," responded Lyon as he crossed his arms. "I mean…look at all those scars."

Lucy looked down once again. She felt uncomfortable now that the two boys were looking at her skin closely.

"Leave her alone, Lyon," growled Gray. "She isn't doing any harm. Mind your own business, would ya?"

"Alright, alright," said Lyon as he held his hands up in mock surrender. "Whatever."

Once he was gone, Gray turned to Lucy. "Sorry about that," he mumbled. "That idiot is unfortunately my cousin."

Lucy rubbed her arms after a few moments of uncomfortable silence. She looked around nervously and was about to talk when Gray cut in first.

"I know you must find this weird since you were home-school. I was home-schooled for a while too, so I kind of understand. You must want to get home to call your loved-one. I'll leave you to it." Gray turned around and started walking away.

"Th-Thank you!" said Lucy, louder than she intended to.

Gray kept walking but gave her a backhand wave.

Lucy couldn't help but think about what Natsu said earlier. _It's alright to let others help you. _She wished it were that easy to ask for help. If so, she would have asked for help years ago.

Running back home, she couldn't help but smile a bit. The day went far better than she though. During lunch, when Levy noticed that Lucy forgot to pack something, the blue-haired girl encouraged her to take whatever she wanted from her lunchbox.

After locking the door, Lucy rushed upstairs as she called the mansion. After a few rings, Virgo picked up.

"Lucy?" came Virgo's anxious voice. "Is that you?"

"Yes! I'm so sorry I wasn't able to contact you sooner. I lost my phone and I just got it back. How are you? Are you…okay?"

"I'm fine!"

Lucy instantly knew that the excitement in her voice was fake. She wouldn't be fine alone in a large mansion with Jude. Lucy frowned. She could already see the smile on Virgo's face, holding back everything she wants to say but can't.

"More importantly," continued Virgo. "How was your first day of school?"

"It was better than I expected. I thought people were going to make fun of me and judge me, but they didn't. At least not to my face, since apparently there is now a rumor going around that I am in a gang."

"My sweet little Lucy in a _gang?_ Where do these kids come up with these sort of stuff?"

"Virgo…I'm kind of covered in scars and bruises."

There was a long moment of silence as they both took those words in.

"Is…the cut from the vase okay? You're changing the bandage when you need to, right? It should be healing soon," said Virgo.

"I accidentally re-opened it today when I fell down. Sorry."

"What are you sorry for? As long as you're treating it right. I don't want to hear you calling and saying that you got an infection! I would have to send a medic team. And speaking of sending, how are you with money?"

"I've only spent it on a few schools supplies and groceries. I have plenty left."

In the background, Lucy could hear her father say, "It's time, Virgo! Who are you talking to? Are you talking to that girl again? Hang up!"

Lucy bit her lip. She didn't want Virgo to go. She wanted to reach into the phone and pull Virgo to her.

"Lucy…" whispered Virgo sadly. "I've got to go…"

"Alright, Virgo. Goodbye…"

Virgo quickly hung up, and Lucy couldn't help but think of all the terrible things her father was going to do to the innocent maid.

Lucy dug through a box of her mom's old things that Virgo secretly shipped to her. It was hiding in the young blonde's room for the most part, but she never found the courage to open it and look through the contents.

Lucy pulled out Layla's jewelry box, hairbrush with some blonde hair still stuck to it, a mirror, and a photo album.

Lucy cried harder each time she flipped through the album. There were pictures of her before she met Jude, when they got married, and when Lucy was a baby. The last picture there was a picture of Layla and Jude kissing in the garden. A quarter of the album was blank, and Lucy knew that if her mom was still alive, they would have gone through at least five more books.

Lucy was about to put the stuff back when she noticed brightly colored wrapping paper hidden underneath the folds of her mom's old clothes. She gently picked it up and realized it was a birthday present.

On the card attached to the ribbon read:

_My dear, sweet little Lucy. You are growing more beautiful as each day passes, and it is an honor for me to witness such a thing. I wish for you to find something very important to you in the years to come, for I have you._

_I will love you forever,_

_Mommy_

_That's right…_ thought Lucy as her tears blurred her vision once again. _She died right before my birthday…_

With shaky hands, Lucy ripped off the neatly taped wrapping and tossed it beside her. In her hand was a black book with no title. Inside, on the front cover, was another message.

_This book is blank for a reason. Write to your heart's content, my darling Lucy._

_-Daddy_

Lucy nearly laughed. Her father was not the same as he was a decade ago. Not in the slightest. What was his wife thinking about him now?

Flipping through the pages, Lucy confirmed that it was, indeed, blank. After putting her mom's things back in place and tossing the trash, Lucy took the blank book and placed it on the desk.

She began writing from the beginning.

She stopped when her hand was too cramped to continue. Looking at the time, Lucy realized that hours have gone by, and she was only half way done with what she wanted to tell. She quickly changed her bandage and jumped into the bath before getting her stuff ready for the next day at school.

A couple minutes after leaving her house, Lucy spotted Lyon and his friends again. Once her and the silver haired male made eye contact, she quickly took a different route.

"Geez, Lyon," started Yuka. "What the hell did you do?"

"I told you she was sketchy," said Sherry.

Lucy got lost once again. She tried to muster up the courage to ask for directions, but she couldn't find her voice. She stood in the center of a square as dozens of people rushed past her. A man in a business suit bumped into Lucy.

"Watch it, idiot!" he said before taking off again.

Lucy randomly picked a direction and quickly left. She stopped when she saw a sign that read: _Fairy Tail Student Apartments_

"Student apartments?" questioned Lucy. "What is this about?" She decided that she would follow the next student who came out. She hid behind the sign until someone stepped past the open doors.

Natsu.

Lucy pressed herself closer to the sign, hoping that she would become one with it and that Natsu, of all people, wouldn't notice her. When he was a good distance away, Lucy walked away from her hiding spot and followed the pink haired male.

She lost him in a large crowd. She looked all around her, but she kept getting bumped into. Lucy saw no where she could run and was about to cry when someone grabbed her hand and started pulling her.

"H-Hey!" she cried. She noticed that her captor had pink hair and was wearing a white scarf. "_Natsu?_"

Natsu turned his head to the side, looked at her, and then grinned. When they arrived at the front entrance to the school, the bells chimed.

"But…how did you know that I was following you?" asked Lucy once Natsu released her.

Natsu chuckled. "You didn't pick a very good hiding spot. You didn't know the way to school, right?"

"Y-Yeah…Sorry…You must think I'm creepy or something…"

"I don't think you're creepy at all." Natsu's face became serious once again. "Don't forget what I told you yesterday, okay?"

"Okay…"

"Anyways, we better get inside before we're late."

The two headed to class together and they barely made it on time.

"Lucy!" cried Levy upon seeing her. "I was so worried you got lost!"

Gildarts waited for the two to be seated before taking attendance. He then got up and reminded students about the club fair.

"_Hey Lucy," _whispered Natsu. Lucy turned her head to look at him. _"You should join the Fairy Tail Guild."_

Lucy looked at Gildarts who was busy answering questions. Turning back to her neighbor she said, "_I want to see the other clubs."_

Natsu _tsked_. "_The other clubs are lame!"_

Lucy rolled her eyes and looked out the window. She saw a blue cat with a white-tipped tail staring at her with dark, beady eyes. It was sitting on top of the fountain. Lucy's eyebrows knitted.

"_What the hell…_" she whispered.

"_What?_" questioned Natsu.

Lucy turned to him. "_There is a strange blue cat staring at me._"

Natsu's eyes widened. "_Does he have a white-tipped tail?_"

"_Yeah, why?"_

"_Shit._"

"Natsu! Lucy!" called Gildarts with his hands on his hips. "What the _hell_ are you two talking about over there?"

"Sir!" shouted Natsu as he shot up from his chair. "I have to use the bathroom!"

Gildarts sighed. "Go."

Natsu ran out, causing some student to laugh.

Lucy resumed looking at the cat. It didn't leave its spot, but it was scratching itself behind the ear. Natsu came into view and the cat quickly jumped off. Natsu stood next to the cat. Lucy couldn't hear a word he was saying, but she knew that he was scolding the animal.

The cat jumped on onto Natsu and he quickly stuffed the cat up his shirt and ran.

"Where the hell is Natsu?" questioned Gildarts when homeroom was almost over. "He should have been back a while ago! That sluffer! I'm going to mount his head on a stick!"

The door slammed open and Natsu, sweaty and exhausted, dragged himself into the room.

"You!" yelled Gildarts, pointing a finger at his student. "What were you doing?"

"I made a comment to Coach Taurus in the bathroom and he chased me around school," replied Natsu.

"Oh," started Gildarts as he put his hand down. "That was your own fault for commenting on his-"

Ichiya came into the classroom and pushed Natsu aside. He stopped, sniffed the pink haired teen, and doused him in perfume.

For the rest of the day, Lucy couldn't stop sneezing.

"Alright," said Mr. Conbolt, the math teacher. "That concludes today's lesson. Have fun at the club fair!"

There were some girls giggling and blushing as they watched the teacher leave the room. From what Lucy has heard, he was very popular with the ladies and even had a son in middle school.

Students poured out of the classroom.

"Natsu, Gray, Gajeel," started Erza as she stood up and picked up her things. "Go into the club room and start handing out fliers.

"Yes, mam!"

"What do you want me to do, boss?" questioned Levy as she stood up as well.

Erza turned sharply and her dark eyes shined. From her small bag, she pulled out a white and blue cheerleading outfit. With matching pompoms, of course.

"What's this for?" questioned Levy as she took the clothing from Erza.

"You're going to be our mascot, of course!" exclaimed the scarlet haired woman with a big smile.

As they argued about Levy's outfit, Lucy sneaked away unnoticed. She headed down to the courtyard where she hoped to find a club that didn't require socialization.

"Cooking club! Join the cooking club! We make delicious food!"

"Music club!"

"Art club!"

"Dance club!"

_There are a lot of clubs,_ thought Lucy. _None which sound appealing. _

She went back inside and bought some juice from the vending machine. "I really don't want to be here right now," she said to herself as she leaned against a corner. She watched other students having fun from a safe distance. Lucy wished she were just like them.

"Have a flier!"

Lucy jumped and dropped her juice at the voice. Next to her stood Natsu holding out a flier. The liquid from the half-empty bottle of juice spilled all over the floor, and Natsu let out a nervous chuckle.

Lucy started walking away. Annoyed.

"Hey, wait!" called Natsu as he caught up with her. "Have you seen the other clubs yet?"

"Sort of," mumbled Lucy.

"Well," started Natsu as he tried handing the flier to Lucy once again. "You have another day to decide."

The young blonde quickly took the paper and started walking faster.

Natsu stopped and smiled. "See ya!"

Grunting in irritation, Lucy stuffed the paper into her bag without glancing at it. After walking for some time, she passed by a group of girls who were staring at her.

"_That's her!" _started one girl with long brown hair. "_That's the one that gets into fights a lot!"_

"_I heard she was kicked out of her old school for hospitalizing someone!"_

"_Did you see that bruise under her eye?"_

Lucy's eye started to twitch. She turned around and glared at the group of girls who then ran away.

Turning around, Lucy bumped into someone. She raised her head and got a good look at Lyon.

"That bruise is getting better though," he said. "Although your ego is not."

"What do you care?" spat Lucy. Realizing she talked back, she closed her eyes and tensed up, waiting to be hit.

Lyon's eyebrows knitted together. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he questioned.

"What's wrong is that you're bugging her." Gray shoved Lyon out of the way, and beside him stood Gajeel. They both looked furious.

"Hey!" yelled Lyon, shoving his cousin back. "All I want is answers. It seems to me like all this girl wants is attention!"

Gajeel grabbed the silver haired teen and shoved him against the wall. Flocks of students started gathering around, curious and excited. Most of them pulled out their phone to capture the scene.

"Leave her alone," growled Gajeel. "Or deal with us."

"What is going on here?" a very short old man pushed through the crowd. He approached the two boys and put his hands on his hips.

Gajeel let Lyon go and grabbed one of the fliers he was carrying with his free hand. He shoved the paper against Lyon's chest and said, "just trying to promote a club."

"Hmph," grunted the man. Lucy wondered if he was a teacher. "Go on, kids! Fun's over! Nothing to see here!"

The crowd of students dispersed and went back to club-hunting.

"Lucy," started Gray as he walked up to the trembling girl. "It's alright. If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask."

"_Why does everyone keep saying that?_" cried Lucy. Tears formed in her eyes. She thought it was trivial to cry, but the encounter with Lyon brought back unwanted emotions.

The three boys and the old man watched as Lucy ran away.

"Can I please hit him now," growled Gajeel as he looked over at the elder.

"No! He deals with me. I'll have a talk with that girl tomorrow during class."

Lucy stayed in the bathroom and kept herself locked in a stall for over half an hour, silently sobbing. Through the intercom came a male voice that said, _"The club fair is over. Thank you for today. Please head home safely."_

Lucy waited for another twenty minutes before heading back home. As she was walking back, she spotted Natsu leaning against the black gate. He had his arms crossed as he looked up at the big fluffy clouds. Lucy's grip on her bag tightened as she got closer.

Natsu finally looked at her. "Hey," he said.

"Hi…" mumbled Lucy. "Why didn't you go home?

"I heard what happened to you from Gray."

"Please forget about that. I shouldn't have cried."

"It's okay to-."

"I'm going to go home."

Lucy walked past Natsu when he said, "I'll walk you there."

Lucy whirled around. "No! I mean…no…I'm fine, thank you." She continued walking when a thought came to mind. She walked back to Natsu and asked, "What was up with _you_ earlier, though."

Natsu's eyebrow rose. "What do you mean?"

"The cat."

"Oh…um… what cat?"

Lucy narrowed her eyes. Natsu laughed and said, "Alright. I'll tell you…but you have to agree to let me walk you home."

Lucy hesitated at the thought of Natsu knowing where she lived. She imagined him popping up randomly to bug her.

"Fine." Lucy walked away with Natsu happily on her tail. "Your explanation better be good."

Once they reached Lucy's street Natsu finally decided to talk. "You see…" he started as he scratched the back of his head. "He's my cat."

Lucy blinked, confused. "Okay…So? You have a cat. What's all the fuss about?"

"Animals are forbidden in the student apartments. And I mean _forbidden_. Once the land lady finds out that you have been keeping a pet, she throws both the pet, _and_ you out."

"Why?"

"She is set on the idea that every pet pees on everything."

They reached the front door to the house and Natsu whistled in amazement. "That's a nice house. Your parents' home?"

Lucy silently put the key into the keyhole and turned. She lost her words again.

"Oh…" whispered Natsu. "You mean…you live here all by yourself?"

Lucy quickly went inside. Before shutting the door she said, "Thanks for walking me home."

"_I'm such an idiot_," said Natsu to himself as he turned away from the door and started walking home.

Lucy quickly took out her phone and called the mansion. She needed to hear Virgo's voice. She needed to know that she was okay.

"Lucy," started Virgo. "Are you okay?"

Lucy blinked. _I haven't even said anything yet. How did she know that I am troubled?_

As if reading her mind the maid said, "Sorry. I just thought you might have lost your phone again."

"I'm not going to make the same mistake twice! But…How are you?"

"I'm doing…better. We still want to be careful with what we say, but your dad had to go on a business trip to Hawaii. He said he was going to be back in a week."

Lucy wanted to scream for Virgo to quickly pack her bags and take the next train, but she knew her dad wasn't stupid enough to leave Virgo unsupervised.

"Have you been eating well?" questioned the maid motherly.

"I have! I had a good cooking teacher!"

"Have you made any friends?"

_Friends_, Lucy thought. It's been only a couple days at school, and she felt like she's already become friends with Levy. She never thought she would have any friends.

"I…I guess so…" said Lucy finally. There was a long pause.

"Okay, Lucy. Tell me everything."

Lucy sighed and first talked about her encounter with Levy and Gajeel at the grocery store and how she saw them on her way to school. She talked about Natsu and his little fight with Gray in class. She talked about how Gray stood up for her against Lyon, and then again the next day.

"Natsu told me something that makes me want to cry every time I think about it," continued the young blonde. "He told me: It's alright to let others help you."

"It is, Lucy. I was never much of help when you were here, but your new friends have already stuck up for you. They don't know you, but I'm you're also their friend in their eyes."

Lucy smiled. "Yeah…I just hope I don't drive them off with my attitude."

"But what about this…Natsu, was it?"

"What about him?"

"He seems very interested in you, don't you think?"

"He's annoying, that's for sure."

Virgo laughed. "I'm sure he's just trying to make you smile. Well, I want to stay and talk, but there are a few things I need to take care of for your dad that is due soon."

"I don't want you to go."

"I love you, Lucy. Bye."

Virgo hung up. Lucy looked at here phone and sighed. She made herself some soup and then prepared the bath. She started thinking about the clubs again, and wished she could talk to Virgo more about it.

"I wonder if there is a book club?" she pondered to herself as she sank deeper into the hot water. "They don't require that much socialization, do they?"

The next day, Lucy got up really early to make herself some breakfast and lunch, and to avoid seeing Lyon. She saw Gajeel on her way.

"Yo," he said. "Why are you going to school so early?"

"Lunch," Lucy replied, pointing to her lunchbox. "And you? Where is Levy?"

She felt comforted talking to Gajeel. He may look threatening with all the piercings he had, which Lucy wondered why the school hasn't had him take them off, but she figured that he has a soft heart.

"I'm early because I got in trouble yesterday. The principal wants me to do my detention earlier."

"Is the principal the man who stopped the fight yesterday?"

"Yep. That's him. "Principal Dreyar."

"Are you and Levy together or something?"

Gajeel stopped walking to laugh. "What made you think that?"

"Well…you two seem really close…and I saw you guys walking to school together."

Gajeel continued walking. "We live close to each other. She lives in a house with her parents while I live in an apartment complex by myself. I'm going to be moving into the student apartments soon, though, because my boss keeps cutting my hours."

"Wh…Why don't you live with your parents? If you don't mind me asking, that is…"

The large man stayed silent for a while as he glued his eyes straight in front of him. Lucy put her head down, embarrassed that she even asked such a question when she can't even answer the same thing.

"They didn't want me," he finally said in a soft tone. "They gave me up when I was very little, and I was in the foster system. No one wanted to adopt me, so I began working hard to get my own place, and a chance to go to a nice school."

Lucy stared at Gajeel in amazement. He worked hard to get where he is, even though he didn't have a great start in life. She suddenly thought of him as a big brother and blushed.

"Do you mind if I ask the same question?"

Lucy bit her lip. "Well…I-I'm sorry, but I'm not ready to talk about it yet…"

"It's okay. We haven't known each other for very long so I guess you must feel weird about this."

Once they reached school, Gajeel headed to the third floor to go meet up with the principal. Lucy took a short tour around the school. She found the gymnasium where she saw a girl about her age dribbling a basketball.

Her hair was snow white and cropped like a boy's, and she was wearing a jersey and shorts. She looked professional as she bounced the ball between her legs. She tossed the basketball far from the net, but it made it in perfectly.

"Wow," Lucy commented, louder than she intended to.

The snow-haired girl gasped and quickly turned around.

_She's so cute,_ thought Lucy as she looked into the girls big blue eyes. Realizing she was staring, Lucy shook her head and said, "I-I'm sorry!" and took off.

"Wait!" called the other girl, but Lucy kept going.

Lucy leaned against a tree to catch her breath. She was on top of a hill overlooking the front entrance to the school. She could see that more and more students were piling in, and she caught a glimpse of Erza, Gray, and Natsu walking in together.

_They look really close_, said Lucy. Jealousy stirred up inside her. The bell rang. As she walked to class, Lucy kept her head down. Students whispered as she walked by.

Lucy didn't notice a small puddle of water in front of her and slid. She went flying for a second until her back and head made contact with the hard floor. Some students laughed, some just stared, none of them helped. Except one.

"It's not funny!" cried a female voice. Lucy could hear the sound of her footsteps coming towards her. "You should be ashamed for not helping her!"

"Geez, Lisanna," commented a male.

The girl known as Lisanna got down on her knees by the injured teen. "Oh no!" she cried. "Your mouth! We need to get you to Miss Vermillion right away!"

Lucy realized that Lisanna was the girl she saw at the gym. Upon hearing that there was something wrong with her mouth, Lucy figured that the liquid in her mouth wasn't saliva, but blood. She bit her tongue when she landed.

Lisanna helped Lucy up while the bells rang, signaling that class has started. Everyone around them was gone already.

"Anything else hurt?" questioned Lisanna as she put a hand around Lucy's shoulder and guided her to the nurse's office. Lucy didn't flinch.

"My head," Lucy choked out. She sounded a little funny with her tongue bleeding, and she had to spit to keep from drowning in her own blood.

"I'm so sorry about the other students. They shouldn't have just stood there."

"It's okay. No need to apologize."

Lisanna smiled brightly. "I really like you. What class are you in?"

"2-B"

"Oh! You're an upperclassman! I'm in class 1-C. My brother is your year but he is in class 2-A, and my sister is a third year in room 3-B!"

"You have…siblings?"

"Yeah, it's just us."

Lucy noticed Lisanna's pale face darken when she said, "just us." She figured there was more to it.

The two girls arrived at the front of a white door with a name tag that read, _Nurse Vermillion_. Lisanna knocked on the door a couple times. The doorknob jiggled and a small girl with long, wavy blonde hair and stunning green eyes opened the door. She was wearing white scrubs.

_She can't be the nurse…can she? _Questioned Lucy. _She looks like a little middle-schooler!_

"Uh-oh," said the girl as she looked at Lucy.

_Uh-oh indeed. The nurse is going to examine me and ask about my scars!_ Lucy tried to turn away, but Lisanna's grip was strong.

"Don't be afraid!" she chirped. "She'll make you all better!"

Lucy hesitantly followed Lisanna and Miss Vermillion into the cold room. Everything was pure white. The window was open halfway and the wind blew the white curtains.

"Let's hurry and rinse out that mouth," said the girl. Lucy followed her over to a sink.

Lucy spit blood, rinsed water in her mouth, and then spat again. Miss Vermillion got salt water ready for Lucy to gargle.

"You can head to class now, Lisanna," said the young nurse with a smile. "Thank you for bringing her."

Lisanna smiled and nodded. She patted Lucy on the back and said, "Lucy, right? I'll see you later, okay?"

Lucy nodded started gargling the salt water. She wanted to puke.

"Let me see," said the nurse as she stood on the tips of her toes. The young blonde opened her mouth and presented her tongue. "It's not too bad. Luckily wounds in the mouth heal fast, so you'll be fine once the bleeding stops."

Lucy continued gargling and spitting.

Once Lucy's tongue stopped bleeding, she asked the nurse, "How old are you?"

The nurse pouted and crossed her arms. "You shouldn't ask a woman her age! But if you must know…I'm twenty-four. I just look really young for my age."

"Yes you do."

"Would you mind if I changed your bandage as well?"

Lucy flinched. "No…It's fine, thanks…Miss Vermillion."

"Just call me Mavis."

The principal walked into the room.

"Makarov!" exclaimed Mavis. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to talk to Lucy, if that's okay."

"Well," started the young nurse as she looked back and forth between the two. "Her tongue stopped bleeding, so I guess it's alright."

"Come along then, Lucy," the principal waited at the door, but Lucy didn't budge. She knew where this was going. She knew where their talk would lead.

She preferred to jump out the window. So she did.

"Lucy!" exclaimed both Makarov and Mavis.

Lucy landed on destroyed flowers and soft soil. The nurse's office was on the first floor, so it was not much of a jump. She dropped her bag and ran home.

_What am I doing?_ She cried in her head as she passed the gates. _I'm just making things harder for myself!_ It was when she got home that Lucy realized that her house keys were in her bag. Cursing, she paced back and forth. She took out her phone and saw that it was almost dead. Passersby gave her a disapproving look.

_And today is when I have to pick out a club too. Fuck._

Lucy had no choice but to turn back. She felt like an idiot. She sneaked behind the school and landed in the garden. She looked around, confused. In front of her was the room she was supposed to be in. She crawled to the window and slowly poked her head up. Ichiya was just getting ready to leave.

Natsu noticed her. His eyebrows knitted together and his mouth hung open. "Lucy?" his mouth formed her name. Lucy put her finger to her mouth and slowly disappeared back into the bushes.

_Am I just going to wait here until school is over? Too bad my phone is almost dead._

About ten minutes later, Lucy heard rustling in the bushes. She braced herself for a lecture, but a certain pink haired male crawled into view.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Lucy's eyes widened. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I'm trying to find out what you're doing!"

"You didn't have to."

"I was getting bored!" Natsu grinned and crawled closer to Lucy. She scooted away. "So why are you here?"

"I…" started Lucy as she hugged her knees. "I jumped out a window. The principal wanted to talk to me."

Natsu stifled a laugh. "Well, that's one way to escape him. I don't blame you though. Why didn't you go home?"

"Well…I did, but I dropped my bag outside the nurse's office and my keys were in there. And my phone is almost dead, too. I had to come back because I still need to get into a club."

"So your plan was to wait here _all_ day?"

"Yes."

Natsu sighed.

"You don't need to wait with me," said Lucy.

"What's going on here?" Gray crawled into view.

"_Gray?!"_ cried Lucy. She covered her mouth and hoped that the teacher didn't hear her. After removing her hands she whispered, "_You too?_"

"Is this a stakeout?" he asked.

"No, we're just sluffing," responded Natsu.

"Okay. I'll sluff with you guys."

Lucy sighed and shook her head. "We're going to get caught. I just know it."

"If we stay here then we probably will," said Gray. "Let's go home and get changed and then get something to eat. I'm starving."

Lucy glared. "Why are you so casual about this?"

"Lucy dropped her bag that has her keys in it," said Natsu, leaning against the wall.

"Then what are we waiting for?" started the black haired teen. "Let's go get it!"

"What if someone got it already?" said Lucy.

"We'll see," responded Natsu as he started crawling away. Gray followed.

"This isn't going to work," mumbled Lucy as she crawled after them.

Her bag was in the same spot where she dropped it. Lucy grabbed it, but Mavis's head poked out the window.

"Lucy!" she exclaimed. "There you are! I was so worried! Wait…" she looked at the two boys standing near her. "Aren't you guys supposed to be in class?"

"Yeah," shrugged Gray.

Mavis stared hard for a few moments and then shrugged as well. "Have fun then. Don't get caught!"

The three students snuck to the street. Lucy's heart was racing as she looked back and forth for a teacher or a police officer.

"We'll meet you at the fountain in the town square," said Natsu before taking off with Gray.

Lucy stood there frozen in place as she watched the two boys disappear. _ Am I dreaming?_ She thought. _This can't be happening. _

Lucy ran home.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please stay with me. This story is faaaaar from over.**

**~Bl00dyshad0w**

(Any awesome artists willing to do an awesome picture for this story?)


	3. Connell Italian

**Welcome back to another chapter! I'm glad you decided to keep on reading! I'm sorry, but this chapter is short.**

_Recap:_

_"We'll meet you at the fountain in the town square," said Natsu before taking off with Gray._

_Lucy stood there frozen in place as she watched the two boys disappear. Am I dreaming? She thought. This can't be happening._

_Lucy ran home._

* * *

The young blonde raced past face after face. She felt excited. A feeling which she hasn't felt in a very long time. She knew skipping class was a bad thing to do, but she pushed that thought aside.

Lucy got home safely and quickly changed into something casual. She hoped that she could pass as an adult. She changed her bandage and then slipped on a long-sleeved gray shirt and dark blue skinny jeans. After tying her shoes, she grabbed her purse and raced out.

_Wait,_ she thought, coming to a stop by the canal. _Where was the square again?_

Lucy took the route she went to when she escaped Lyon. She quickly spotted the large fountain and the two boys standing by it. Gray was wearing a tight black shirt and dark jeans while Natsu wore a loose white shirt with light blue jeans.

There were also a few girls standing next to them.

"Are you sure you don't want to hang with us?" pouted one of the girls who had big, poofy blonde hair. "We're going to do karaoke later!"

"We're sure," said Gray, scooting away from a cute girl with short brown hair.

"Who are you guys even waiting for?" asked a girl with long black hair. She stood close to Natsu.

Natsu looked up and spotted Lucy. The frown on his face turned into a large grin and he waved. "Lucy!" he exclaimed. The three girls quickly snapped their heads towards said person.

"What the hell…" mumbled the girl with brown hair.

"Sorry girls," said Gray as he started walking towards Lucy. "Our company is here. Have fun at karaoke."

Lucy stood still. Her confidence was gone and she felt self-conscious about herself once again.

"What do you feel like eating?" asked Natsu as he approached his female companion. "Gray and I are up for anything!"

"I…" started Lucy, looking at the ground. "I actually think I'm just going to go back home…"

"What?" questioned Natsu. "Lucy, forget about those girls, okay? There is nothing for you to worry about."

"_Nothing for me to worry about?_" growled Lucy as her hands balled into fists. She started shaking.

"Lucy," said Gray sternly. "He didn't mean to insult you, since we don't even know what's going on. But the least we can do is buy you some lunch. Okay?"

Lucy sighed, releasing all her anger. "Fine. But I'll buy my own lunch."

The two boys waited for Lucy to say what she felt like having. Lucy pondered over it and decided that she felt like having pasta.

"Oh!" exclaimed Natsu. "I work at an Italian restaurant! I can totally get us a discount!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" questioned Gray as he started walking away. "Let's go eat."

The three teenagers walked towards the food section of the square. They stood in front of a restaurant titled: _Connell Italian_

There were not many people, since it wasn't lunch time, and it barely opened.

"Wait!" exclaimed Lucy. She turned to Natsu. "If you work here, wouldn't your co-workers know that you're cutting class? We're going to get into trouble!"

"It's fine!" said Natsu as he swung his hands behind his head. "They're cool."

Inside the restaurant was dimly lit, and Italian music played softly through the building. There were many potted plants lying around, and plenty of paintings hung on the wall.

"Table for three," said Gray towards a young woman with black framed glasses and long black hair in a braid. She also had stunning blue eyes.

"Right this way!" she chirped. She saw Natsu and looked at him with a surprised expression. "_Natsu?_" she exclaimed. "Aren't you supposed to be at school?"

"_Sh!_" said Natsu, putting a finger to his lips.

A woman with long green hair came into view. She fashioned a cowboy hat with her black manager uniform. Looking at Natsu sternly she said, "Why are you cutting class?"

Natsu shrugged. "We just got hungry, Bisca. I just had to refer them to this place!"

Bisca sighed. "Fine, fine. Katelyn?" She turned to the young waitress. "Show these three to their seats please."

"Yes, mam!" the waitress brought along three menus as she directed her customers to a booth. "Here you are!"

Lucy sat on her own, and she was glad for that. But when Gray looked up and saw the seating arrangement, he quickly crawled under the table and took a seat by Lucy.

"_What the hell?_" exclaimed the young blonde, scooting away.

"That's what I want to know!" yelled Natsu, glaring at Gray.

"I didn't want to just leave her sitting all by herself," shrugged the raven haired man. "That just seems a bit rude. Besides. I'd rather not sit by you. You eat like a pig and you'll get food all over my clothes."

"_Hey!_"

"U-Um!" said Katelyn nervously. "Can I get you guys something to drink?" she passed out the menus.

"I'll have a cappuccino," said Lucy.

"Water," said Gray.

"Peppermint tea," said Natsu.

Katelyn wrote the order down on her pad. "Alright. I'll be right back!" she left.

Lucy looked over at Natsu and saw that he was still glaring at Gray. Gray looked cool and casual as he crossed his arms over his chest.

_This is getting really weird,_ thought Lucy.

After a few moments of silence, the waitress came back with their drinks. "The food is going to take a little while to prepare," she started as she placed the drinks in the right place. "So I apologize in advance for the wait!"

"It's no problem," said Gray before taking a sip of his water.

Katelyn smiled and left.

"So," started Gray as he opened his menu. "Let's see what they're serving here…"

"I already know what I want," said Natsu, not even bothering to open his menu.

Gray glanced over the top of his and sneered. "Of course you do. You fucking work here."

Lucy's eyes widened when she noticed a young girl with a cowboy hat standing by their table. Underneath her hat was a lop of dark brown hair gathered into pigtails. Her wide purple eyes shined with youth.

"Oh," said Natsu surprised once he spotted the young girl. "Asuka. Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

Lucy glared at him.

"No," said the young girl. "No school today. Your friends?" she looked over at Lucy and Gray and smiled as she held on tightly to her toy gun.

"Yo," said Gray with a smile. "I'm Gray. Nice to meet you."

Asuka looked at the young blonde expectantly. Lucy blinked.

"This is Lucy," covered Natsu. "She's new to the school I'm attending."

Lucy took a sip of her hot drink.

"So," started the child as she held her hands behind her back. "Are you both Lucy's boyfriend?"

Said woman turned to the side and spat her drink out in surprise. Gray, who had his legs crossed, bumped them onto the table and let out a hiss of pain. Natsu laughed.

Asuka looked confused.

"No no no no no no no!" said Lucy quickly as she wiped cappuccino off of her chin. "Nothing of the sort!"

The young girl pouted.

A young man with spikey black hair came over and shooed the girl away. He chuckled nervously as he faced the group of teenagers. "Sorry about that," he started. "She needs to learn how to stay put."

"Is she your daughter?" questioned Gray.

"Yeah!" chirped the man. "My wife is Bisca and I am Alzack. My daughter's name is Asuka. Bisca told me about your…situation with school."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Natsu as he placed his hands behind his head and leaned back onto the cushioned seat. "We are just three adults getting something to eat."

Alzack shook his head. "I see."

Katelyn came back. Seeing her, Alzack said his goodbyes and went back into the kitchen. The waitress walked up to the table and asked, "Are you ready to order?"

"I haven't even looked at the menu yet," complained Lucy as she rested her head against the wall.

"Sh-Shall I give you a bit more time?"

Gray opened the menu and quickly pointed at something without looking at it. After his finger touched the plastic cover, he leaned his head in to get a better look. "Torte…Tort…Alla…" Gray struggled to pronounce the dish.

Lucy leaned over, saw where his finger was pointing at and said, "Tortellini Alla Panna."

Natsu looked at Lucy in surprise. "You know Italian?"

Lucy shook her head. "No. I've just cooked a lot of Italian dishes in the past, so I picked up some words here and there. Alla Panna means, _with cream._"

"I'll take it," said Gray, closing his menu.

Katelyn nodded her head and scribbled on her pad. She looked over at Natsu. "Your favorite?"

"Yes, please!" chirped Natsu.

"Cannelloni it is." The waitress scribbled on her pad more, and then looked up at Lucy who looked closely at the menu. "I can come back if you want…"

"No!" said Lucy, louder than she intended it to be. "I mean…um… I'll just take the Penne Chicken Alfredo!"

"Are you sure?" questioned Katelyn as she placed the ball of the black pen onto the paper.

"Yes."

"Alright…" After scribbling the order down, she took the menu from the group and left.

"Are you sure you're fine with your order?" asked Natsu worriedly.

"Y-Yeah…" Lucy started playing with her fingernails. Katelyn said the wait was going to be long, and she didn't know how she was going to hold up in the type of situation that she was in.

_I should just head to the bathroom to clear my head,_ she thought. Lucy excused herself to the bathroom, causing Gray to get up to let her pass.

When Lucy was out of sight, Natsu continued to glare at Gray. The dark haired male smirked.

"Still mad about the seating arrangement?" he asked.

"No!" yelled Natsu defensively.

After a few moments of silence, Gray sighed. "I wish I knew what was up with her," he started. "I just know that whatever it is, it's not good."

"She's not going to tell us anything," responded Natsu. "I mean, we've only known her for a few days."

"Do you think she will join our club today?"

"I don't know. She's determined to look at all the other clubs before deciding."

Natsu spotted Lucy walking back and sat up straight, pretending like he wasn't just talking about her. Gray got up and allowed Lucy to take her seat.

After a long while of pointless conversation and silence, their food finally showed up. The servings were large, and the aroma filled their nostrils and watered their mouths.

Katelyn quickly backed away, protecting herself from whatever Natsu was going to do.

"Finally!" he exclaimed. He dove in head first into his meal. Pieces of food flew everywhere.

Lucy was stunned. She looked at Gray, half-expecting him to do the same thing. He picked up his fork and ate like any other normal person would.

Lucy elegantly ate her food like she was taught to in the past, causing Gray and Natsu to raise an eyebrow.

"Hey!" she accused, looking at Natsu. "You out of all people have no right to look at me like that while I eat!"

"Where did you learn how to eat like that?" asked Gray.

_Virgo, _was what Lucy wanted to say, but she stayed quiet and took another bite of her food.

At the end of their meal, their waitress came back and brought the check. "You guys got a discount," said Katelyn with a smile. "Bisca also wanted me to tell you that you cutters got a cut? I didn't find it that funny, but I had to laugh with her because she's...scary."

"Thanks," said Natsu with a smile as he took the black checkbook and slid it towards himself.

"Aren't we cutting it?" asked Gray.

"Oh!" exclaimed the waitress. "I'm sorry! I didn't know you guys wanted to pay separately. I would have given you all a different bill!"

"No, it's fine!" said the pink haired male as he took a look at the grand total. He grimaced a bit, causing Lucy and Gray to feel a bit guilty.

"I'll pay," said Lucy as she held her hand out for the checkbook. "I was the one who said that I felt like having Italian."

"Can't you still split the bill now?" asked Gray, turning his head toward Katelyn.

The young waitress laughed nervously and said, "I wish I could, but our computers don't work that way…"

"I said I'll pay!" exclaimed Lucy, standing up a bit to lean across the table. She attempted to snatch the checkbook away from Natsu, but he quickly pulled it away.

"No!" he cried.

"What the hell is going on over here?" Asked Bisca. She walked over with Alzack next to her. When they approached the table, Bisca slammed her palm onto the table, causing Lucy to quickly sit back down. "You guys are causing a commotion!"

Alzack rubbed his wife's shoulders. "There now," he said nervously. "Yelling won't make the atmosphere any more peaceful."

"Th-They forgot to mention that they were going to pay separately," said Katelyn, shying away from her angry boss. "Now they are debating on who is going to pay…"

"Well," started Bisca, straightening herself up. "That's an easy fix. All of you can just pay up front right now!"

Katelyn cleared the table while the group emptied out their wallets. Natsu turned his leather wallet over on the table, allowing crumpled cash to fall out. Both Gray and Lucy had neatly organized money and pulled out their payment with ease.

Bisca took the money. "Thank you," she said. She looked at Natsu. "Don't forget that your shift starts at five."

Natsu saluted before Bisca, her husband, and Katelyn left. The group of teens got up shortly after.

"I'll head home now," said Lucy as her and the boys were outside one again. "I'll just wait until school is over and then I'll head back. Thank you both." Gray and Natsu watched as she quickly walked away.

Gray crossed his arms. "Good job, Natsu. Your eating habits creeped her out. Actually, scratch that. Your eating habits creep _everyone_ out."

Natsu was about to punch his companion in the face when they heard a noise next to them.

"Ahm!"

The two boys turned their heads to see Makarov staring at them sternly.

* * *

**So it's nothing special, but uh-oh for Gray and Natsu!**

**Naughty children. Tsk Tsk.**

**Please continue along with me and this story if you like it :D And review! If willing! *Crickets chirp***

**Until next time!**

**~Bl00dyshad0w**


	4. Fairy Tail

**I'm so sorry that's it's been a while! I've been...busy. I also found the notebook where I started outlining the chapters to this story long ago, and I found out that I originally wanted to name this story: Broken Souls**

**What do you guys think? Should I change it?**

* * *

_Recap:_

_Gray crossed his arms. "Good job, Natsu. Your eating habits creeped her out. Actually, scratch that. Your eating habits creep everyone out."_

_Natsu was about to punch his companion in the face when they heard a noise next to them._

_"Ahm!"_

_The two boys turned their heads to see Makarov staring at them sternly._

* * *

When Lucy got home, she immediately fell face first into her couch. "I'm so full!" she whined. Looking at her phone, she saw that the battery had a percent left, so she jumped over the couch and ran upstairs to plug her phone in.

"Phew!" she said.

As she waited for her phone to charge, she went to the bathroom to change her bandage. "It's not so bad," she said to herself. "It's healing really fast, actually…"

Lucy combed through her tangled hair until it was nice and perfect. That was about the only thing perfect about her. Her face still had discolored blotches; remnants of her time at the mansion.

After spending some time with the television, Lucy got ready for school. She tugged her uniform back on and then pulled the charger out of her phone. There was enough time to make one phone call.

Lucy dialed the mansion twice, but no one answered. "That's odd…" whispered Lucy. "Virgo said that dad was away…" After convincing herself that Virgo went out shopping, Lucy grabbed her bag and headed out the door.

_I wonder if the boys are already there,_ she thought.

By the time Lucy made it to school, her skin was wet with perspiration and her uniform was messy. She ran as fast as she could. She leaned against the school walls and pulled her long socks up and then fixed her hair.

She walked through the gates. School already ended and students were walking around. Lucy was sure that the majority of them were just walking around aimlessly since they may have already picked their clubs. Lucy felt left out. It wasn't a foreign feeling, and to her surprised, she felt comfortable with that.

Students stared and whispered as she passed by. She was sure that they were talking about her skipping class, and that the rumors of her being some sort of delinquent was true. But she also heard Natsu and Gray's name mixed in with hers.

"_I heard that she is whoring around with them!_" whispered one girl to another.

"_That slut!"_ whispered another girl.

Some guys stared at her lustfully. "I wouldn't mind getting a piece of that," said a guy, not even bothering to whisper.

Lucy kept her head down as she walked and tried her best not to cry in front of all these strangers. She felt determined to find a club, even though she really didn't want to.

"_I bet you one-hundred Jewels that I can bang her by the end of the day_," said a guy.

"I'm so tired of this shit!" yelled another male. Lucy looked up, curious.

A tall student with spiky orange hair and blue-tinted glasses towered over the student who made the dirty comment. He fashioned a scowl on his face. Lucy noticed that he also wore a bunch of rings on his fingers, and his hands were balled into tight fists, as if he was ready to land a hit.

"L-Loke!" stammered the student as he staggered back a bit, afraid. "Sorry, man! I didn't realized it would offend you! A-Are you two dating or something?"

Loke swung his fist towards the student's face, but he stopped right before one of his rings made contact with his cheek. "Get out of here," growled Loke. The student quickly ran off.

Lucy felt relieved that there were more people in the school who were actually kind enough to stand up for her. Lucy was about to thank Loke when he quickly interrupted her.

"This never happened," he said in a low, serious tone. "I'll take your silence as your gratitude. Don't expect it to happen again."

And with that, Loke went inside the school, leaving Lucy stunned.

And even more afraid. Students who witnessed what happened were already spreading rumors like wild-fire.

"_Did you hear that?_" whispered someone in the crowd. "_James asked if they were dating and Loke didn't give him a response! I thought she was whoring around with Natsu and Gray, but this is just ridiculous!"_

_Yes, _thought Lucy with trembling lips. _It is ridiculous._

After walking for a bit more, Lucy saw Levy, Gajeel, Natsu, and Gray from a distance. Levy was in the cheer-leading uniform that Erza gave her the other day while the boys were handing out fliers. No one was taking them. Lucy noticed that the hill that overlooked the school entrance wasn't far away, and she cautiously headed there, trying not to be seen by the Fairy Tail Guild members.

Once she arrived at the bottom of the hill, Mavis ran over to her. "Lucy!" she cried. "I'm so glad you came back! How was lunch? Gray told me that you guys went to an Italian restaurant!"

"I-It was fine, I guess. The food was pretty good."

They stood in silence until Mavis spoke up. "Makarov caught Natsu and Gray after you left."

Lucy's eyes widened. "They _did? _What did he say?"

"The boys denied you being at the restaurant with them, so you're off the hook. But Gray and Natsu are being punished with one week of after school detention."

"_Oh no,_" started Lucy, feeling guilt stir up inside her. "I'll have to tell the principal right away. It's not their fault! Well…It's not _all_ their fault."

Mavis smiled. "Whatever you think is best. I have to go now. There might be a kid with a bloody nose at my door again and I may not even know it! Goodbye, Lucy!"

Lucy waved as she watched the young nurse skip off. Lucy still found it unbelievable that she was older than her.

Lucy continued up the hill.

Once she got to the top of the hill, there was a small group of girls waiting for her.

"We saw you coming up here," said the leader who had short brown hair that framed her small face perfectly. Her arms were crossed and she was standing with her legs apart. "And we're here to give you a warning. We are not going to sit by and watch as you tear people apart. Things have tipped now that you're here. You act so cool because you got scars and bruises to show off, but you're not. Look, we don't know exactly what happened earlier today, but we do know that you ditched school with Natsu and Gray and they took the fall. For you."

The girl stepped forward and pushed Lucy onto the dirt.

One of the brown haired girl's companions spoke. "Welcome to Fairy Tail High."

The three girls left, and the threats kept swirling around Lucy's mind.

_You act so cool because you got scars and bruises to show off. _Lucy cringed and touched her injured arm gently. _Why would I want to show these off?_ She asked herself. _They don't know anything…_

Lucy stared up at the blue sky with large, white puffy clouds. The wind slowly picked up, causing the clouds to move faster. "Don't go…" whispered Lucy.

"Lucy?" Lisanna's head poked into view. Her white hair shined brilliantly in the light, as did her blue eyes. "What are you doing?"

Lucy sat up. "Just…admiring the sky…"

Lisanna bit her lip, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't bring herself to. Lucy knew that Lisanna heard about the rumors. She questioned if there was anyone who _didn't _know.

"Let's walk together, Lucy," said Lisanna finally as she held out her hand with a smile. Lucy took it.

The two walked to areas where there weren't very many people. Lisanna kept talking, trying to fill the silence, but Lucy stayed quiet. She liked Lisanna, but her happiness radiated out of her so much that it seemed as if it was draining Lucy's energy. Plus, she didn't know how to relate to such a popular, athletic, pretty girl.

Lisanna brought up Natsu out of the blue. "Natsu has always been pretty unpredictable. I can't tell you how many times he's gotten in trouble. I've known him since we were little kids…" It seemed like Lisanna was going to add on to that sentence, but she moved away from it. "Anyways, I've always looked up to him. He's also really nice and doesn't ever let his friends down. He's…_amazing_…"

Lucy gave her a side-ways glance. "You like him…"

Lisanna giggled. "Is it that obvious?"

Lucy realized why Lisanna has been so hesitant. She must have heard that Lucy must have been whoring around with someone she loves. The young blond just found it hard to believe that someone like Lisanna would actually _consider_ the rumors.

This made Lucy want to cry.

"Oh, it's my brother!" exclaimed Lisanna. A very large man with wild white hair approached. Lucy didn't see the similarities between the two, besides hair. "Elfman!"

"Yo, Lisanna!" Elfman stared hard at his sister's companion. "And Lucy."

_Yes, I am Lucy. The one that you heard of from the rumors, _was what Lucy wanted to say. "Hello," was what she ended up saying instead.

A beautiful woman with long white hair and blue eyes walked up to them. _This must be the sister,_ thought Lucy.

"Mirajane!" exclaimed Lisanna. "This is my friend, Lucy!"

"Hello, Lucy! It's a pleasure to meet you!" said the woman kindly. She turned to her siblings and said, "I've been looking everywhere for you two! We are supposed to meet with Erza and…"

Lucy drowned out the sound of her voice and was already looking for an escape route. The siblings weren't paying attention to her, so she sneaked away, undetected. After all, she had to find a club, and fast.

Lucy headed inside the large building and into an area which she hasn't visited yet. She stepped in front of a door and read the sign. _The Writer's Club_.

"The Writer's Club?" questioned Lucy out loud. The door to the room was closed so she knocked on it a couple times.

"Enter!" came a male voice.

Lucy opened the door and stepped in. "Sorry to intrude…" she started. She froze when she saw Lyon staring at her with an equally surprised expression. "Oh…" Lucy also noticed that Lyon's two companions from the first day of school were in the room, plus a man who strangely looked like a cat in some way.

"Lucy," started Lyon, eyes narrowed. "Why-"

Lucy cut him off by leaving the room. The only club that seemed promising and it housed the devil himself. Lucy cursed.

"_Students!_" came Makarov's voice through the speakers. There was a painful feedback that followed. "_The club fair will be ending in twenty minutes. I repeat! Twenty minutes! Anyone who has not found a club to join by then will have to join the clubs with the least people! Thank you!"_

Lucy heard the click which meant that Makarov has signed off. "Shit," mumbled Lucy. "The last clubs are probably tutoring or something. I better think of something fast…"

Lucy stopped. She opened her bag and took out a crinkled piece of paper. She smoothed it out and looked it over.

"You've got to be kidding me," said Lucy. "I can't believe I've gotten down to my last resort…"

The door to the Writer's Club opened up and Lyon stepped through. He looked worried. Lucy turned her back and was about to walk away when the man grabbed her shoulder.

"I…apologize," said Lyon. When Lucy kept still and silent, Lyon continued. "I over-reacted. And…yes, I have heard the rumors, but I know which ones are bull-shit and which ones are not. I haven't believed anything I've heard about you so far."

"You thought I was a delinquent as well…" started Lucy silently. "You may as well have been the one to start that rumor, am I right?"

Lyon's mouth opened and closed a few times before he took his hand off Lucy's shoulder and sighed. "Yes, that was me. But I was wrong. I…noticed your interest in the Writer's Club. We're still looking for ambitious writers, so if you're interested…"

"I'm sorry," said Lucy, her voice wavering. She couldn't trust Lyon. Without looking back and without another word, she walked off towards the stairs.

Lyon went back into the club room.

Lucy walked quickly through the halls, confused as to where the Fairy Tail Guild room was. She felt like she walked the third floor twelve times when Makarov announced that there was only five minutes left. Lucy leaned against the wall and sighed.

"The least they could do is put up directions," grumbled Lucy, tired. She looked at the flier again. "The room upstairs in the third floor, it says. Gee, I wonder who wrote that." Lucy immediately thought of Natsu.

Lucy decided to try again one last time, and if she didn't make it, then she would just have to stick it up with the unwanted clubs. As she walked, she noticed an unmarked room. All the other rooms were marked, and those were the ones that she paid attention to. Curious, Lucy knocked.

She opened the door and stepped inside.

* * *

**Trust me, I never intended to take this long to update. If I keep outlining the chapters, I should be fine ^^ I also noticed a lot of followers! Horray! I'm so glad you're following! (And if you're not then I'm glad you're reading!)**

**I just really hope you guys stick with me to the end. And speaking of END did you guys read the new manga chapter?! 416 I think...but OOOMMMG**


	5. Welcome to the Club

**One day update! Yeah! Let's do this!**

* * *

_Recap:_

_Lucy decided to try again one last time, and if she didn't make it, then she would just have to stick it up with the unwanted clubs. As she walked, she noticed an unmarked room. All the other rooms were marked, and those were the ones that she paid attention to. Curious, Lucy knocked._

_She opened the door and stepped inside._

* * *

"Hey, did you guys see Lucy anywhere?" asked Natsu when Lisanna and her siblings walked into the room. Natsu was sitting on top of a desk, waiting.

Lisanna let out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah…but we lost her a while ago. I guess she got tired of hearing me talk." The heat rushed to her face when she remembered what she told Lucy.

When the siblings went to go stand next to Erza, Makarov announced that there was only twenty minutes left.

"I wonder what the old man is going to make us do this time," said Gray to Natsu.

Natsu shrugged and said, "My guess is gardening. But you never really know with him."

"You're so lucky you didn't get Lucy involved in this," started Erza as she folded the cheer-leading uniform that Levy gave back. "I would have slammed your heads together."

"It was worth it," said Gray.

"Yeah!" chirped Natsu. "We should totally do it again!"

Lisanna pursed her lips and looked away. She was playing with her fingers when Mirajane took her hand. "One of these days you have to tell him," she whispered with a smile.

Lisanna quickly shook her head. "No, I can't! He only sees me as a friend!"

"You don't know that…"

Every one waited in anticipation once they heard the door to the club room knock. Erza was about to tell the person to enter when Lucy stepped through. Natsu's eyes lit up and he held a grin.

"I knew she would come!" He exclaimed joyously.

"I had no other choice…" mumbled Lucy for only her to hear.

"Lucy!" exclaimed Levy as she ran up to the young blonde. She was about to hug her when she thought otherwise. "I'm so happy you made it!"

Lucy looked around the room and saw that the majority of them were from the same class as her. Even the girl with long, wavy brown hair, Cana, was there. In class, Lucy always heard her conversations start and end with booze.

From another class was Lisanna and her two siblings, Mirajane and Elfman. Upon seeing them, Lucy looked down as her face turned red. "I'm sorry," she said.

"It's no problem," said Mirajane. "I would have run away myself if I were another person!"

"Wh-What now?" questioned Lucy nervously. Now that she was finally in a club, what was she supposed to do?

Erza cleared her throat. "I'll sign you up in a moment, Lucy. I need to wait for the applications from our mentor. But for now, let's talk about the fall sports. The council and I have picked out the sports for this year's fall sports event. We are in charge of helping with the set up."

"_Laaaaame!_" shouted Natsu, putting his hands behind his head. "Let's go out and eat or something."

Lucy shot him a look. Gray noticed this and chuckled, causing Natsu to hit him over the head. Gray got up and pushed Natsu off the desk, causing him to fall on his back.

Gajeel threw a notebook at them. "_Shut up!_" The tall, pierced man joined in on the fight.

Levy rolled her eyes. "_Boys_," she muttered.

Elfman, out of nowhere, said something about being a man and joined into the fight as well. Erza's eye twitched. Her cool demeanor was gone, and she went up to the boys and whacked them all on the head.

Lucy was sure there was a bump on the back of their heads.

"What is going on here?" questioned a male voice behind Lucy and Levy. They both jumped around and looked down. The principal was standing there. The two girls split to make enough room for Makarov to walk through.

"Erza's a bully!" whined Natsu. All the boys stood up rubbing the back of their heads.

Makarov approached Erza and handed her the applications. "Any new recruits?"

"Just one," replied the scarlet haired woman as she looked over at Lucy with a smile.

"I-I'm so sorry about jumping out the window earlier!" stammered Lucy. Her face turned bright red. "And I would also like to receive punishment! I was skipping with Natsu and Gray earlier!"

The students looked at her, stunned.

"Lucy, it's alright," said Gray.

"No, it's not," responded Lucy.

Makarov shook his head. "I didn't catch you with them, so it's alright." The principal smiled. "Just consider this as a warning. And welcome to the Fairy Tail Guild. These guys don't really do that much, but they help out with events and stuff. Have you guys talked about the sports festival yet?"

"Yeah," replied Erza as she finished writing up Lucy as part of the club. "I haven't told them what sports we're doing, though."

"Alright. You do that, but I have principal stuff to attend to. And boys?" Makarov looked over at Gray and Natsu. "You two will be working on the garden today." The principal left the room.

"I knew it!" cried Natsu as he punched his fist into the air. "I'm on a roll today!"

Gray scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Hey, what the hell are we doing?" questioned Cana. "Why are we all just sitting around when we could be out celebrating Lucy's membership? Let's go out and drink some booze or somethin'!"

Mirajane chuckled softly. "We're under-age, Cana. Including you."

Cana pulled out her wallet and dug into the contents. She pulled out a card and held it out. "That's why you need to have one of these! Everyone needs a fake I.D! It's expensive, but it works! Most of the time, at least!"

"We're not doing that." Stated Levy as she placed her hands on her hips. "Can't we just go buy a cake or something?"

"_A booze cake!_" cried Cana, putting her hands up in the air.

Erza sighed. "Cana, did you put vodka in your water bottle? _Again?_"

The brown haired woman chuckled. "Maybe. You're not going to report me, will you, _president?_"

"Of course I will."

Lucy held her hands behind her back and rocked herself back and forth. Her legs were getting a bit tired from just standing. "Actually," she said. "I think I'll just go home. Thank you for the consideration, though…I really appreciate it. Let's have cake another time."

"I'll bring it," stated Cana with a raise of her hand. Elfman put it down.

"Bye," said Lucy, leaving the room.

Once Lucy was gone, everyone looked over at Cana who was smiling smugly. "What?" she questioned. "You never know. She may like booze too!"

"You scared her off!" complained Natsu. Lisanna bit her lip.

Lucy walked through the empty halls of the school. She must have been in the club room for a while. As she passed the gates, she noticed Loke with a girl. The girl that pushed her down. The two were standing really close and they were smiling.

_Wow,_ thought Lucy. _I didn't see that coming._

The girl stopped talking and looked over at Lucy. The smile she had on her face faded into a deep scowl. What made Lucy feel hurt even more was that Loke was scowling at her as well.

_I don't understand…_ thought Lucy. _What did I do to him?_ Lucy decided to keep her head down and walked as quickly as she could.

When she got home, she plugged her phone back in and then received a call from Virgo. She picked up right away.

"Virgo?" she asked once she placed the phone to her ear.

"Lucy," came Virgo's voice on the other line. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well. I was able to join a club today."

"Really? I'm so glad! What club? A book club, perhaps?"

Lucy scoffed. "I wish. I joined the Fairy Tail Guild. From what I heard, they help set up events. Grunt work. What have I gotten myself into, Virgo?"

"I'm sure you'll enjoy it eventually."

Lucy smiled but then frowned soon after. "Ne, Virgo…Were you out shopping earlier?"

"No, why?"

"Why didn't you pick up the phone?"

There was a long pause. Too long, in Lucy's opinion. In a whisper she asked, "Did….Did he come home?"

"Not yet," responded Virgo quickly. "I was just taking a nap."

Lucy heard the voices of two males on the other line, which caused her brows to furrow. "Who's there?"

"No one," responded Virgo quickly with a nervous laugh. "Just the television."

"I've got the camera ready," was what Lucy heard from one of the guys.

"Listen," said the maid quietly. "I've got to go. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay…"

"I love you, Lucy."

"I love you too, Virgo."

The call ended.

_What is going on over there?_ Thought Lucy. Her heart rate started going up and her eyes widened as she thought, _The camera's ready? Did dad hire someone to video tape Virgo…Oh my God…_

Lucy ran to the bathroom and leaned over the toilet as she threw up and cried. She couldn't even imagine the humiliation and pain Virgo was going through.

Later in the evening, Lucy was doing her homework in her room. As she was finishing up, she hear a distinct, _meow_. Looking over at her window, she saw Natsu's blue cat with a white-tipped tail.

"What in the world?" Lucy questioned. She unlocked the locks to the window and slid it open. The cat immediately jumped onto her bed and made himself comfortable. "Natsu must be worried sick!" she cried.

The cat _meowed_ once again and curled onto Lucy's lap and purred. The young blonde never had a pet before in her life, and rarely ever saw any animals after her mom died. Lucy started petting the cat. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember your name…" she looked at the tag on the collar and saw the name Happy.

"Happy," Lucy repeated. The cat looked up at her expectantly. "Smart cat," she commented. "But can you fly?"

The cat tilted his head, confused.

"Of course you can't."

Someone knocked on her door. "Sorry," said Lucy as she removed the cat off of her. "I have to go get that."

Lucy hurried downstairs and opened the door. There stood Natsu, out of breath.

"H-Have you seen my cat?" he panted. "I could have sworn he came this way."

"Yeah, he's inside," said Lucy. She moved to the side to let Natsu pass.

Natsu followed Lucy after she shut the door behind him. They went upstairs and into a cat-less bedroom.

"Uh-oh," said the woman as she looked underneath her bed. "He was here, I swear!"

Natsu help look in the bedroom, but no cat was seen. The both looked up when they heard a _meow_ coming from the window. Happy was sitting on the window sill again.

"Happy!" Natsu said sternly. "You're in big trouble!"

Happy jumped into the room and landed on Natsu's shoulders. The pink haired male turned to Lucy and said, "Thank you so much. I'll have to repay you back. How he ended here is just strange though."

"I agree," responded Lucy. "And no, you don't have to repay me. Getting to pet him was enough."

Natsu grinned. "I'll see you at school tomorrow. Thanks again!"

Lucy showed him out and she watched as he scolded his cat, causing people walking his way to raise an eyebrow. Lucy looked up at the moon.

_It's a beautiful night to take a walk_, she thought. Lucy put on her sneakers and stepped out into the warm atmosphere. She ordered a candy apple from a street vendor and smiled. The last time she had a candy apple was the first, and the only, time she visited an amusement park with her parents. She savored every bite of it.

After tossing the candy apple stick into the trash, she noticed a familiar face from a distance. Lyon's white hair glowed in the moonlight. Next to him was a young woman with long dark blue hair that curled up at the ends.

"I can't keep lying to myself," she said straightforwardly. "We had a good run, but I can't be with you anymore."

"B-But…" stammered Lyon. He looked crushed. "Juvia, I love you! You can't just walk out on me like that! After all we've been through together!"

"I think we can only be friends, Lyon. I stopped loving you after I discovered my true feelings…I'm sorry, but this is how it's supposed to be."

"Juvia, please don't do this. I love you."

"I don't love you anymore. My heart belongs to someone else now."

"Juvia…"

Lyon and Lucy stared at Juvia's retreating figure.

_I can't believe I just watched that_, thought Lucy with her mouth open. Lyon sat on the nearest bench, rested his elbows on his knees, and then covered his face. Even from a distance Lucy could tell that he was shaking.

_I could go back_, Lucy thought. _I could pretend like nothing happened here and just forget about it. After all, he was an ass to me. But he apologized…I…I can't just stand here while he's in distress, even though he's caused me some._ And with that resolution, Lucy bravely approached Lyon.

When she stepped in front of him, Lyon looked up with hopeful eyes. He most likely thought that Juvia came back to take back what she said, but he looked down after realizing it wasn't her.

"What are you doing here?" he muttered, not looking at the person in front of him.

"I…I saw what happened," whispered Lucy nervously. "I can't fix things, but I can lend an ear, if you want."

Lyon looked up and into Lucy's brown eyes. Sighing, he patted the seat next to him. Lucy sat down and waited for Lyon to talk. After what seemed like forever, Lyon finally decided to speak.

"A few months ago, me, Juvia, Gray, Cana, Natsu, and a few others went on a trip to the beach. We stayed in a villa that we rented out. Cana, of course, brought a bunch of alcohol. We all drank, and we all got really drunk. Natsu was the first to pass out, then me. When I woke up, I saw everyone sprawled on the floor, dead asleep. Everyone was there, except for Gray and Juvia. I had a really bad hangover, but I forced myself to go look for them. I had a really bad feeling. While I was walking down one of the hallways, I heard arguing coming from one of the rooms. I entered and found Gray with only his pants on. That wasn't a surprise to me, but what did surprise me was how Juvia was standing in front of him in only a blanket.

We all stood in the room stunned. After a few moments, Gray claimed that he had no idea how it ended up that way. I lost my temper and went to go kill Gray. Juvia stopped me, of course. I never forgave Gray for that since I always thought he made the first move. But tonight I found out it was Juvia who did it. And she wanted more ever since."

Lyon covered his hands with his face again. "But I can't bring myself to hate her. I love her too much…"

Lucy rubbed his back. "Hey," she whispered. "You're not at fault." They both stayed silent for a while.

"I don't want to go home," said Lyon finally.

"I'll make us something to eat," said Lucy. She stood up. "Come on, let's go to my place."

Lyon stared at her for a few seconds before nodding his head. "Thank you."

* * *

_**Ooooohhhh boy, here we go. **_**Thanks for the reviews! I usually see the mistakes I made when I re-read the story on my phone, so if you see something really distracting, go ahead and tell me ^^ I try to make this as best as I possibly can. So props for the guest who informed me on a big mistake. It must be this big screen that makes me look over things o.o**

**~Bl00dyshad0w**


	6. My First Kiss Went a Little like This

**Hi there! Another update! Yaaaay, let's celebrate with booze cake!**

* * *

_Recap:_

_"I don't want to go home," said Lyon finally._

_"I'll make us something to eat," said Lucy. She stood up. "Come on, let's go to my place."_

_Lyon stared at her for a few seconds before nodding his head. "Thank you."_

* * *

Lucy led the way to her home with Lyon following right beside her. She was beginning to rethink herself.

_Was this a good idea? _She questioned as she bit her lip. _Lyon is a good guy, but is he really? He can't be as bad as my dad is. I'm just going to cook him dinner to cheer him up. That's all. That's all we're going to do._

Lucy stole a glance at her male companion. His face looked like he was in deep concentration, as if he was trying to figure out how to get Juvia back.

Lucy stepped in front of her door. Lyon looked up, stunned.

"Nice house," he commented as Lucy inserted the key and turned. He followed Lucy inside.

Lucy went into the kitchen and put on her pink apron as Lyon sat on the couch. "How do you feel about chicken and broccoli stir fry?" Lucy called as she pulled on the bow of her apron and started tying her hair up.

"Sounds good!" replied Lyon. "Need any help?"

"No thank you," responded Lucy. "It will take several minutes probably. Go ahead and watch T.V if you want."

Lyon nodded his head and turned on the television.

As Lucy was cooking, she realized that it was the first time she has ever cooked for a guy before. Or actually, the first time she cooked for anyone besides Virgo. Looking at her hands, she noticed that they were shaking. _At this rate,_ she thought, _it's probably going to take a bit more than several minutes._

When the food was on the plates, Lucy brought them to the living room where Lyon was hunched over and looking down at his phone. Probably waiting for a response from Juvia.

"It's no use," whispered Lyon, dropping the phone to the floor. "She's not going to respond. I don't know what I'm going to do now…"

"You can eat," said Lucy as she handed the silver-haired teen a plate of stir-fry. Lucy sat down next to him.

"Again, I'm really sorry about…the rumors," said Lyon.

"It's okay," said Lucy, not taking her eyes off the screen.

The two ate in awkward silence. When Lucy was done, she took Lyon's plate and her own back to the kitchen. When she came back, Lyon wasn't on the couch. He was standing up and looking at a picture of Lucy and Virgo.

"Who's that?" he asked.

"My…My good friend, I suppose. She's like a mother to me."

"Where is she now?"

Lucy stayed silent and played with the solid gold ring on her finger which was a gift to her from Virgo. Lyon turned around.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I did it again. Sorry."

"No, no. It's fine…"

The ring that Lucy was playing with slipped off her finger and rolled towards Lyon. The woman chased after it and knelt down the same time Lyon did. The ring dropped in between them, but neither of them picked it up.

Lucy was frozen under Lyon's stare. With a flick of a switch, his aura changed. It reached out and pulled Lucy forward, holding her. Keeping her from getting up.

"Wh-what-" started Lucy. Lyon interrupted her when he pushed her gently onto the floor and kissed her.

_What's going on?_ Thought Lucy. Lyon's warmth spread throughout Lucy's body. To her surprise, she felt comforted. Lucy never really noticed how deprived of human interaction she was until that moment. She pulled Lyon closer. Her heart pumped with adrenaline. She stopped thinking straight as she let Lyon mold his lips with hers.

Lyon's kisses trailed to her neck which he placed feathered kisses upon. Lucy's breath was shallow and shaky. Lyon slowly pulled Lucy's shirt up and was able to fold it just underneath her bra when things ended.

Lucy's conscious cleared. She pushed Lyon as hard as she could and scrambled backwards until her back made contact with the wall.

It seemed as though Lyon came to his senses as well. His face was clouded with guilt as he panted, staring at Lucy. He shook his head. "L-Lucy…I swear, that _was not _me. I'm so sorry…I…" He quickly got up and ran out of the house.

Lucy stayed where she was. She wrapped her arms around her legs and laid her head down.

_My first kiss,_ she thought. _I never thought it would happen like this…How am I supposed to even look at him at school tomorrow? _

Lucy stayed the way she was for a while, listening to the drama playing on the T.V. She eventually stood up, turned it off, and got ready for a bath.

The next day at school, Sherry, Yuka, and Lyon made it to the gates the same time Lucy did. Lyon looked at her with a guilt stricken expression, but Lucy quickly turned away. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. If she didn't stop him, who knows how much farther they would have gone.

"Looks like she's still mad at you," said Yuka to Lyon as they watched Lucy quickly enter school grounds. "I don't blame her. People are being way too rough on her, if you ask me."

"So what exactly did you do?" asked Sherry.

Lyon ignored her and went ahead.

Yuka stood closer to Sherry and whispered, "You know, now that he's single…"

Sherry looked down. "I know…but he's madly in love with Juvia. I don't think I'll ever be able to fill in her shoes."

Ahead of her, Lucy noticed Gray and Juvia. Plus a whole bunch of students gathered around, watching them argue.

"Don't ignore me, Gray! I told you that I love you!"

"I already told you, lady! I don't want to have _anything _to do with you! Okay?"

Lucy felt like she was watching a replay of what happened the other night with Lyon and Juvia.

"Gray!" cried Juvia, grabbing onto Gray's arm. She whispered, "_You can't just have sex with me like that and not feel anything for me!"_

Gray pushed her off. "This really isn't a conversation we should be having in public. Leave me alone!"

The raven-haired teen stormed off. Juvia broke down in tears and her friends rushed over to her aid. Lucy found it in her to comfort Lyon, but she didn't find it in her to comfort Juvia. She walked away from the scene to join class.

Everyone was asking Gray what happened, but he kept his earphones in, blasting music. Erza gave him a look which Lucy figured was her way of saying, "_You're off the hook for now, but we're definitely talking about this later."_

Gildarts walked in and threw a chalkboard eraser at Gray when he didn't turn his music off when asked.

"_I heard Lyon broke up with Juvia,_" said Natsu as he leaned towards Lucy.

"_It was Juvia who broke up with him."_

"_How do you know that?"_

A lump in Lucy's throat appeared and she tried swallowing it down. "_Uh…That's just what I heard."_

Gildarts started talking about the fall sports festival and the activities that would be going on. Before Lucy drowned out the sound of his voice, she heard that there would be swimming, long-distance running, tennis, volleyball, and martial arts. There were most likely more but she didn't catch them.

_I wonder if I should tell him…_ thought Lucy as she looked over at Gray. _Actually, that's probably a bad idea. Gray, after Juvia broke up with your cousin last night, he kissed me. And I let him. But I wonder if he and Lyon were close in the past, but because of recent events, they can't stand each other? Now more than ever, probably. I just wish there was something I could do to help…_Lucy unconsciously touched her lips and them immediately put it back down. _I still can't get over what happened. _Lucy could still feel Lyon's heat from his body and it made her shudder. Her stomach turned into knots when she thought about what everyone would think if they find out what happened. _Someone would probably spread a rumor that I was the reason that Juvia and Lyon broke up._

"_Everything alright, Luce?_"

_Luce? _Lucy looked at Natsu, confused. _Did…he just give me a nickname?_

"_Sorry," _whispered the pink-haired student as he scratched the back of his head. _"I like simplified versions of things. Levy calls me simple-minded, so I guess it works."_

"_Do you even know what simple-minded means?"_

"_Not really. But you didn't answer my question."_

"_I-I'm fine. Just deep in thought, I guess." _

Lucy looked over at Gildarts when Natsu said, "_Thanks again. For Happy, I mean. I don't know what I would have done if I lost him."_

"_You're welcome."_

"Lucy Hearfilia!" roared Gildarts. Students turned around in their seat to get a good look at Lucy. Her face turned bright red. "Do not be influenced by Natsu!"

Lucy nodded her head, hoping Mr. Clive wasn't going to say anything more about her.

After school, Erza pulled Gray aside like she face-said earlier. Lucy didn't want to get involved so she quickly left.

"See you tomorrow, Luce!" exclaimed Natsu. He was on his way to after school detention.

Lucy waved and headed down the stairs. As she walked home, she noticed a certain man with orange hair. He was pacing around while looking at the ground. "_Where is it, where is it?_" she heard him say.

_What is he looking for?_ Lucy thought.

Looking down, Lucy saw something shiny. A ring. _This is probably what he's looking for._ Lucy bent down and picked up the large gold ring. Inscribed in cursive was the name, _Karen Lilicia._

_Former lover? Maybe his mother?_

Lucy looked up when she felt Loke's gaze on her. He held a look of shock instead of the usual scowl, but he immediately fixed that.

"I-I found this!" said Lucy lamely as she held up the ring for Loke to see clearly.

Loke walked up to Lucy and snatched the ring away just before she could ask who Karen was.

"Next time," growled Loke as he fastened the ring on his finger once again. "Stay far away." He walked away, not even giving Lucy a second glance.

The only thing that made the day better for Lucy was that she was going to call Virgo the moment she got home. There was a lot to tell her, and Lucy didn't know where to start.

"A blue cat?" questioned Virgo.

"Yeah," responded Lucy into the phone. "His cat somehow found out where I live and I let him in. Natsu came by soon afterwards to pick him up."

"Natsu was in the house?" Virgo sounded like she was starting to get motherly and over-protective. Lucy wasn't sure if she wanted to tell her the rest.

"Yeah…but he was in and out. Anyways, I took a walk and watched a couple break up. They both go to my school. After the girl left, I invited the guy in to make him dinner because he looked miserable."

"_Lucy!_"

"I know, I know! I guess I shouldn't have done it, but I didn't know at the moment! I didn't want to just leave him there!"

Virgo sighed. Lucy imagined the maid rubbing the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Did anything happen?"

Lucy stayed silent, which was all the answer Virgo needed. "_For goodness sake, Lucy! _ You have to be more careful than that! Did he take your virginity?"

Lucy's face heated up. "N-No! I stopped him before we could do…_that!_"

The two stayed silent. Lucy bit her lip nervously, not sure what to say. Finally she said, "Virgo, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

"Alright Lucy. I have to go now, anyways. I'll talk to you later, okay? _Be safe_."

"Yes Virgo. I love you."

"I love you too."

After hanging up, Lucy rushed to her journal to begin writing down all that happened.

Juvia exited the building and started to wander. _Gray_, she thought. _You have to love me. You made love with me. I could have been pregnant. I stopped loving Lyon to love you. _

_Juvia took a long swig of the alcohol Cana smuggled into the villa._

"_What's a party without drinks?" exclaimed Cana, holding her bottle of alcohol up. She sat in between two men. No one really knew who they were. They just showed up. _

_Juvia was snuggled in the arms of her boyfriend, Lyon. He was talking to Natsu about food._

_Juvia, however, was not interested in that. She was interested in the man talking to Gajeel. Gray. Juvia stared at his handsome features and imagined herself wrapped in his arms._

"_Let's see who can hold their alcohol the best!" cried Cana before emptying her bottle. _

_Everyone joined in the game, since they were all a bit drunk._

"_Natsu passed out!" exclaimed Gajeel with a laugh. He brought out a black marker to draw on Natsu's face._

_Lyon was second. Then Gajeel, after vandalizing Natsu's face, of course. Then Cana and her male companions._

_Juvia looked at Gray. He was lounged on the couch as he continued drinking his alcohol. He was beyond drunk. "Looks like it's just you and me," he started. "I bet I'll win!"_

_Juvia didn't give it another thought and jumped on him._

Juvia smiled, reliving the moment in her head.

* * *

**Juvia is craaaaazy! D: Review? Fav? Follow? Yeah?**

**~Bl00dyshad0w**


	7. Messy Room

_Recap:_

_Juvia looked at Gray. He was lounged on the couch as he continued drinking his alcohol. He was beyond drunk. "Looks like it's just you and me," he started. "I bet I'll win!"_

_Juvia didn't give it another thought and jumped on him._

Juvia smiled, reliving the moment in her head.

* * *

The next day, Lucy got to class a minute before the bell was supposed to ring. She got up a lot later than she intended to, which meant she ate no breakfast and had no lunch with her. She remembered to stuff her wallet in her pocket, at least.

"There you are!" exclaimed Levy as she threw her hands into the air dramatically. Her hand accidentally smacked Erza in the face who was leaning towards the blue haired girl. Levy's eyes widened in fear as she quickly brought her arms to her. "_Oops!_ Don't kill me, Erza!"

"It's fine," said Erza, not even fazed.

"Hurry and sit down!" said Gildarts who had his feet on top of his desk. He was leaned back in his chair, relaxed.

Once Lucy sat down, a girl from another class came in with something in her hand. Gildarts looked at her with a brow raised.

"Can I help you?" he questioned.

The girl ignored him and scanned the room. Once she saw Gray, she quickly walked up to him, placed a note on his desk, said it was from Juvia, and then ran off.

Everyone watched as Gray unfolded the note and read it. Shortly after, he ripped it up to pieces and threw it on the floor.

"You're gonna have to pick that up," said the teacher. Ignored again, Glidarts _tsked_ and turned to Cana. "Cana, can you get me the stack of paper work that is sitting on my desk? I forgot it."

"Y-Yes!" Cana quickly got up and ran out of the room.

_That was an odd reaction_, thought Lucy.

As Gildarts talked about his high school days, Natsu turned to Lucy and asked, _"Hey, what's up with Gray?"_

_Does he not know what happened that day? Does Cana even know? Wh-What should I tell him?_

Lucy stared at her seat mate with a blank expression.

"_Luce?_"

"_I-I'm not sure!_"

"Lucy!" Gildarts scolded. Cana came in with a short stack of paper. "Ah, thank you!" He took the papers from Cana, but she stood frozen as she stared up at Gildarts.

"Cana, what are you doing?" asked a student in the front row.

Gildarts looked at Cana, confused.

The young woman shook her head and said, "You should probably do something about those wrinkles, Gildarts. Your age is catching up on you."

Gildarts narrowed his eyes, but you could tell that he really wanted to go look at himself in a mirror. Cana sat down and sighed deeply.

During lunch, Lucy shyly asked Levy if she could come with her to buy some food. Levy and Gajeel were surprised, but quickly recovered.

"Yes, of course!" exclaimed Levy, jumping out of her seat. She eyed Gajeel and said in a flat voice, "You eat my food, you _die_."

Gajeel gulped and nodded.

Levy led Lucy to the convenience store, avoiding the cafeteria. "You'd rather not be surrounded by those…_people_, am I right?"

Lucy nodded. "Thank you. I was almost worried that you were going to lead me there."

"I just hope this little phase of theirs will pass soon," said the blue haired girl. "We've never gotten many new transfer students before. Plus, you're pretty. So you'd be a target, bruises or no bruises."

Lucy blushed a bit. "Thank you. There are plenty of people in Magnolia…why aren't there that many transfer students?"

Levy sighed. "For about a decade now, Magnolia has split into two. It's nothing official, but everyone knows it. The old and new Magnolia. On the other side of town is the new Magnolia. There are more job openings there, and it's a larger area. It's also the prettier side, so there is more tourism."

Lucy and Levy arrived at the convenience store. Lucy bought herself, her companion, and Gajeel a few red bean buns, soda, and some candy. When they got back to the classroom, Gajeel was seen chowing down on Levy's lunch.

"_You bastard!_" screamed Levy. Students in the room quickly turned their heads in surprise. "_You ate my lunch! Again!"_

Gajeel's eyes widened and he dropped his chopsticks. Levy ran towards Gajeel, jumped over desks, and the whacked him over the head with her lunch box. Which was made of metal.

Once school ended, Erza went up to Lucy and reminded her that there would be a Fairy Tail Guild meeting after school on Monday.

"Some manual labor, probably," commented Natsu as he headed out the door with Gray.

Lucy waited for a bit until more people left the building. She felt really uncomfortable going down the stairs with a crowd of students, which caused her to almost trip once.

When Lucy got to the gate, she saw Juvia come around the corner. Her eyes were narrowed, and her lips were curled into a nasty snarl.

"_You_," she growled.

Lucy blinked twice. "H-Hello."

"_Stop advancing on Gray! You stupid _slut!_ Are you sleeping with him?"_

Lucy didn't know what to do. She looked around but saw no one. The area was conveniently empty, in Juvia's case.

"_You _slut!_" _Juvia repeated.

"J-Juvia! I don't-"

"_Shut up! You should just leave this school! No one likes you, anyways!"_

At this point, Lucy's eyes were watering.

"_You better stay away from Gray! Gray is _mine!_ Gray will _always_ be mine!"_

_She's insane!_ Thought Lucy. _I need to get out of here before she hurts me!_

Lucy tried to run past Juvia, but the blue-haired woman grabbed hold of Lucy and smacked her across the face.

"Juvia!" Gray came out of nowhere and grabbed her. "_You crazy_ bitch_! What are you doing?_"

Juvia let out a scream and jabbed Gray with her elbow, causing him to let go. She ran back inside the building.

"Lucy, are you okay?" asked Gray worriedly.

Lucy kept her hand on the area that Juvia scratched her and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thank you."

"Want me to walk you home?"

"No. You're supposed to be in detention."

"So? What kind of friend would I be if I didn't come help? I saw you guys from the second floor."

Lucy blushed but quickly shook her head. "It's alright Gray. I don't want to get you into more trouble that you already are in. I'll go. I'll be okay."

"Alright, Lucy. I'll see you on Monday, then."

As Lucy walked home, she removed her hand that was covering her cheek and saw a small streak of blood.

_Great. Something else added to my collection._

"Lucy!"

Lucy looked up and saw Lyon standing in front of her door and was holding two white plastic bags. Lucy stopped, unsure whether or not she should approach.

Lyon approached for her instead.

"I'm here to apologize. My actions were inappropriate and I wouldn't blame you if you don't forgive me. Hell, I wouldn't even forgive me. So I came with gifts."

Lucy watched as Lyon held up the bag in his left hand. "This one is vanilla ice cream. The other bag has a small chocolate cake and some cupcakes." Lyon blushed. "I really didn't know what else to bring. When Juvia was on her period and was mad at me, I would bring her a ton of sweets and she would cheer up. I was…hoping you'd somehow cheer up with this."

Lucy tried to stifle her laughter by covering her mouth.

"What's so funny?" asked Lyon.

"I-I'm sorry!" Lucy said with a laugh. "It's just…this scene seems pretty funny to me."

Lucy took the bags from Lyon. "While I am still mad at your actions, you were heartbroken and your head wasn't in the right place. I should be apologizing for letting you in my home in your condition in the first place. If I knew this would happen…" Lucy shook her head. "Thank you for the sweets. I'll be fat by Monday."

Lyon smiled. "Good. You need some meat in those bones." The silver haired-teen narrowed his eyes when he saw the fresh mark on Lucy's cheek. "Is that…new?"

"Oh," Lucy held both bags in one hand while her free hand flew to her cheek. "This? I just scratched myself too hard. I need to cut my nails."

"Your nails are short."

"And…they're sharp."

Lyon gently pulled away Lucy's hand. "Did Juvia do this to you?" he whispered.

Lucy gulped and then slowly nodded her head. Lyon sighed and let go of Lucy.

"Shall we go inside? I want to talk about Juvia."

Lucy bit her lip. Lyon knew what her answer was going to be so he insisted on sitting on a bench instead.

When the two sat down Lucy said, "Gray was the one who pulled Juvia away from me." She knew Gray was the last person Lyon wanted to hear about.

"I'm glad someone did. Even if it was him. Juvia won't even acknowledge me when I try to talk to her in class. Even her friends ignore me. I nearly broke down today. Later on during lunch, Gray visited me outside where I was taking a walk. He told me that the note that she wrote him said something along the lines of, _I want to be the mother of your children_. Gray and I believe that she needs…help."

Lucy looked up, sensing someone familiar.

Levy and Loke were walking together. Once Levy spotted Lucy, her eyes lit up and she smiled. "Lucy!"

Loke's head snapped in her direction. The moment the two made eye contact, he left as quick as possible. Levy looked at him confused, but then she walked up to Lyon and Lucy.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked the blue-haired girl curiously.

"I was just discussing some personal stuff with Lucy," said Lyon as he got up. "I have to leave for work now. I'll see you guys later." He took off.

"What's that?" asked Levy, pointing to the bags.

"Some sweets. I should probably go put the ice cream in the freezer, but I need to ask you something. Why does Loke hate me so much?"

Levy shrugged. "I don't know. I've never seen him act like this before. Hey, you want to hang out after you put the ice cream away?"

Lucy looked at her nervously and then shook her head. "Sorry. I'm going to be busy. I hope you don't mind."

"No, it's okay. I'll see you Monday!"

Levy ran the direction Loke went as Lucy got up and walked to her house.

"He showed up _again?_" asked Virgo.

Lucy put a spoonful of vanilla ice cream in her mouth and said, "yeah, but I didn't let him inside this time. He came to apologize."

"Lucy, don't speak with your mouth full! And that's nice of him, even though he did sexually harass you."

"Virgo, he wasn't in a clear state of mind."

"State of mind my _ass_! He overpowered you! This is still too unbelievable to me!"

"Virgo-"

"If I was there, I would have dragged his ass out of the house and whipped him until he passed out!"

"That's a little extreme."

"Sexually harassing you is a little extreme."

_Is it still sexual harassment if I was letting him? _Was what Lucy wanted to ask, but she stayed silent.

"Lucy, never let that boy in your house again."

"Roger that."

"Good! Is there anything you would like to talk about? Do you need more money?"

"I'm not that big in shopping, Virgo. You are. I don't know what to do with all this money."

"Shopping?"

The two laughed. When they hung up, Lucy cried. She missed Virgo so much that it hurt.

"_Meow!_"

Lucy looked up at her window. Once again, Happy was sitting on the window sill, waiting for her to open it. The young woman crawled on top of her bed and flipped the locks open and then pulled the window up. Happy jumped in.

Lucy stuck her head out the window and looked both ways. "Natsu?" she called. No response. When she went back in her room, she saw Happy nestled in on top of her pillow. Lucy huffed. "You're going to get cat hair all over that!"

And hour later, Natsu still didn't show up.

"That boy needs to learn how to take care of his pets!" muttered Lucy. She grabbed a bag and stuffed Happy in it. "At least I know where he lives. Sort of."

Lucy quickly changed out of her school uniform which she forgot to take off after she came home. She slipped on a red tank top, her white hoodie, and jeans. Happy tried to escape the bag, but Lucy pushed his head back down and zipped it far enough so that the cat could have air.

"_Meow!_"

"I'm going to get you back to Natsu," said Lucy as she left the house.

She had her hoodie up once she reached the apartments. If anyone caught her, she was dead. She didn't do too well under pressure. Upon reaching the apartments, she froze when she realized how big it was.

"I'm never going to find Natsu in this place," she said, looking at the building as if seeing it for the first time.

"Hey, Lucy! What are you doing here?"

Lucy fixed her gaze on Erza. She was out of her school uniform and was wearing a black long sleeved shirt and dark blue jean shorts.

"Erza! I need your help!"

"What for?"

"_Meow!"_

Erza tilted her head. "Is there….a _cat_ in your bag?"

Lucy sighed. "I'm busted already. Forget it, I'll find another way."

"Whoa, wait a minute!" The scarlet haired woman grabbed Lucy's wrist before she could leave. "_Is that Happy in there?_" she whispered.

"_Yeah…how did you know?"_

"_I've known Natsu since we were kids. There is nothing he can't hide from me._"

"Can you help me find him?" asked Lucy once Erza released her wrist.

"I'm sorry, Lucy. I actually have a…I mean I have to meet with someone right now and I'm already late as it is. You'll never get inside without an inspection, so I suggest climbing. He's on the second floor so it won't be hard. If you go around the building…"

Erza instructed Lucy on where to go and then she was off to her meeting. Lucy ducked, crawled, and ran to the back of the building. When she got there, she counted the windows.

"_13, 14, 15, 16, 17! _That better be it!"

People on the second floor and up had their own little balcony. Lucy had to jump to reach the railings with the risk that see may be seen by the tenant who lived in the apartment under Natsu. Her fingers grabbed onto the metal and she struggled to pull herself up and she swung her legs as she pulled. Her injured arm didn't even hurt that much.

"Almost…got it!" she said. She was able to get her left foot onto the balcony, which made things much easier after that. She climbed over the railings and landed in front of a glass sliding door that was partially opened. Enough to let a cat through.

Through the door, Lucy could clearly see Natsu sprawled on the floor like a starfish. Drool was dripping out of his mouth and his shirt was halfway up, revealing his abs. Lucy drew her attention to the messy room. Trash flooded the floor like it wasn't cleaned in months. From where she was standing, Lucy could smell the stench.

"I don't blame you for leaving this," said Lucy to Happy.

"_Meow!_"

Lucy slid the door open and then closed it. Natsu woke up after the young woman set her bag down.

Natsu looked at her with tired eyes. "Why are you in my dream, Lucy? Are you some kind of mage as well?"

"What?"

Natsu blinked. After he realized he was now in reality, he jumped up. "_What are you doing in my room? _How_ are you in my room?"_

"Erza told me where you were at. You left your sliding door open a crack, but it was big enough for Happy to sneak through. And speaking of Happy…" Lucy bent down and unzipped her bag. Happy jumped out and immediately traveled to the kitty litter.

Natsu's face twisted into confusion. "Happy…left?"

"And guess where he showed up."

"I-I didn't even realize…"

"It's alright. Just pay more attention next time. He's a smart cat. Oh, and before I go, I need to remind you that you should…clean."

Natsu looked at the mess around him and let out a nervous laugh. "I'll try. Thank you, Luce. You're amazing."

Lucy blushed and then left the way she came, but then quickly hid when she saw Juvia and the brown-haired girl who pushed her down the other day. They were too far away to hear what they were saying, so Lucy quickly fixed her hood and went another route back home.

* * *

**Oh Natsu -_- **

**I can't wait until I get further into this story AAAHH I'm not okay. :3 **

**Favorite? Follow? Reviews are always nice. **

**~Bl00dyshad0w**


	8. Gym

**So sorry it's been like, two days? xD Funny thought: I don't really remember anything that I put into my notebook that has the chapter outlines for this story, so when I started to get to the end of this chapter, I realized my notebook was gone. I seriously thought I left it at school and that some random person would pick it up, read through it, and question me _so _much (If they do figure out it was me). But I'm _pretty_ sure I left it in my locker. At least I hope so. **

**Aannnyways, I'm sure you don't want to read anymore rant xD**

* * *

_Recap:_

_Lucy blushed and then left the way she came, but then quickly hid when she saw Juvia and the brown-haired girl who pushed her down the other day. They were too far away to hear what they were saying, so Lucy quickly fixed her hood and went another route back home._

* * *

Lucy woke up to a call from Virgo.

"Hello?" asked the young blonde and she sat up slowly and ran her fingers through her messy hair.

"Lucy!" said Virgo. "You're sleeping in!"

"But there is no school today, Virgo."

"Oh, that's right. I keep forgetting you're in a school now. Anyways, I added more money into your card so you can go shopping for clothes or something. Go have fun."

"But Virgo, I already told you-"

"Hush! I don't want to hear another word about it! Now get up before you sleep the day away!"

Virgo hung up and Lucy fell back onto her bed with a load moan. "I don't wanna!"

About an hour later, Lucy was ready to leave. She dressed in a blue shirt, white pants, and black boots. "I guess I'll go out and buy more groceries since I'm missing a whole bunch. Maybe some clothes…"

Lucy went to the grocery store and grabbed a basket. She walked through the aisles and picked out the things that she wanted. "I'll make myself spaghetti tonight," she said to herself as she grabbed a jar of tomato sauce.

When her basket was good and full, she went to the register to check out her items. She placed her items on the belt and then waited for the cashier to finish scanning them.

Lucy didn't realize her cashier was Loke until after he finished scanning.

"And your total is-" Loke looked at Lucy and froze. "Y-Your total is…"

Lucy looked at the total on her screen and swiped her card. The card approved and the receipt printed out next to Loke. He tore it out and handed it to Lucy.

"Why did you help me that day," started Lucy as she took the receipt. "If you hate me so much?"

Loke glanced around, hoping to see any one of his co-workers so that they could help him out. "H-Hate you?"

"Yes."

"I don't hate you. I…"

"You what?"

"I'm afraid…"

Lucy looked at him with a bewildered expression. _Afraid?_ She thought. She grabbed her bags and then looked back at Loke who looked like he regretted what he just said.

"Don't ask me anything more," he said, almost sadly.

When Lucy got home, she quickly put the groceries away and then hopped onto the couch with her bag of chips. She turned on the television which automatically showed the news.

"Jude Heartfilia, one of the wealthiest men in Fiore, has made another fortune in the Waii Islalnds…"

_Does that mean…_ started Lucy as she stared at the screen but didn't listen to the voice. _He's coming back? To Virgo?_

Lucy stayed on her couch, scared. The following day, Lucy phoned the mansion.

"Hello?" came Jude's voice from the other line. "Who is this?"

Lucy's mouth was open. She had plenty of things to say to the man who has tortured her for years, but she was too scared to say anything.

"Hello?" repeated Jude. "Hey, I'm busy. Goodbye."

Their line cut.

School rolled by once again, and this time, Lucy had gym. She picked a gym locker far away from where the others were, but Levy and Erza quickly found her.

"Do you mind?" asked Erza as she started to undress.

Lucy shook her head, but noticed that her hands were shaking as she held onto the hem of her shirt.

"It's okay, Lucy," started Levy once her and Erza turned away. "We won't look."

Lucy changed as quickly as she could. She stopped wearing the bandage since the wound was good enough to heal itself, given that Lucy didn't somehow re-open it again. Her shorts revealed some nasty bruises on her legs, but most of them were barely even noticeable and were fading fast.

"Can we turn around now?" questioned Levy who slipped on her white gym shirt.

"Go ahead," replied Lucy as she started putting her hair up in a ponytail. "What kind of things do you do here in gym, anyways?"

"Today we'll be doing track and volleyball," responded Erza who slipped on her blue shorts and turned around with Levy. "But I'll tell coach Taurus that you will be exempting from the second one, considering your arm is still not done healing."

"Thank you."

"Come on, we better go!" said Levy as she tied on her bandanna. "Everyone is already leaving!"

"Are we going to be with the guys?" asked Lucy as the three walked out together.

"They're separate," replied Erza. "We rotate. We'll be doing track first while they do volleyball, and then we switch. Since there aren't that many students in our year, all the second years have gym together."

Lucy gulped. "All of them?"

In the locker room, Lucy did notice more girls that she saw weren't in the same class as her, but she didn't pay attention to it.

The trio joined the large group of girls who were gathered around coach Taurus, who Lucy quickly realized that he was the one who commented on her body the first day she arrived in Magnolia.

"Wonderful," Lucy sighed.

"Don't worry," assured Levy, immediately knowing what Lucy was thinking of. "Coach is strange and likes to comment on bodies a lot. Not just the students. He'll never touch you though, and he can be really nice. I heard that he use to sculpt nude women for a living and was making a lot of money, but decided to dedicate himself to teaching."

"But isn't that still sexual harassment or something?"

Erza grunted in disgust. "Ichiya is worse, yet I haven't been able to kick him out yet. There is no other fucking English teacher in all Fiore who can fill in his shoes, according to Makarov."

"Ladies! Take your places on the track!" announced the coach.

"Do you like running?" asked Levy as she led Lucy to the starting points.

"Not in particular."

"I'm a pretty fast runner," bragged Erza.

"Four laps makes a mile! Try finishing in less than fifteen minutes!" said Taurus. He blew his whistle and the girls were off. "Make use of your sexy bodies!"

Ahead of her, Lucy caught sight of Juvia running beside a couple of her friends.

"Look at Erza go!" said Levy.

Lucy tried to find Erza in the crowd, and was surprised to see that she was leading the pack when she started in the back next to Lucy and Levy. Erza was gaining more speed.

"Think we can catch up with her?" asked Levy, though her face gave away what she thought the answer would already be.

"We can try, I guess."

Lucy gained more speed. The daily runs around the mansion were finally coming into good use. Lucy mentally thanked Virgo for caring so much for her health.

"W-Wait up!" called Levy, though her voice was distant.

Lucy whizzed past student after student, and even quicker when she passed Juvia. After what happened between them previously, she didn't want to see the wrath written on Juvia's face.

"Whoa! Is that Lucy?" exclaimed a student. More joined in on the buzz, which made Lucy run even faster and made it to one lap.

"Keep going, Lucy!" cheered the coach once Lucy passed him. "Keep your sexy body moving!"

Lucy noticed that Erza was a half a lap away and was already mingled in with slower runners still trying to make it through their first lap. One of them was Levy. Not so long later, Lucy caught up to her.

"You're so _fast_!" Panted Levy. "And you're not even panting as hard as I am!"

"I've had a lot of practice."

"Go beat Erza!"

Levy cheered her friend on and Lucy left once again. Erza was still half a lap away and was already done with her second lap. Once Lucy finished her third lap, she finally caught up to the scarlet-haired woman who looked at her with surprise.

"No one has ever caught up with me before!" she exclaimed. A proud smile formed on her face. "I'm glad someone can."

The two finished their fourth lap at the same time and went to a grassed area to rest under the shade of a tree. It overlooked the volleyball area which was being coached by Coach Capricorn who liked to wear shades all the time. Even indoors.

Lucy watched in horror. The men were beasts. Whenever they hit the ball, Lucy thought that she saw it flame up from the impact. Especially when Natsu hit it.

"Amateurs," commented Erza with a scoff.

Lucy looked at her with wide eyes. "If you think they're amateurs, how well do you play volleyball?"

Erza crossed her arms and smiled. "I've beat the boys several times. Which would be every single time I've played with them."

Lucy recalled Natsu saying something about Erza being a monster.

"Time for the switch!" called the coach.

Once the girls got set up for volleyball, Erza explained Lucy's condition to the coach who said it was okay for her to sit out and watch. Lucy took a seat on the grass close to the court, but far back enough that she wouldn't get hit.

"Let's do this!" shouted Erza who was at the front of her team.

Closest to Lucy was Juvia's team. The blue haired woman looked at Lucy with hatred, causing the blonde to quickly look away, fearing she may turn to stone.

"_Fight!_" cried Taurus once he blew his whistle.

Erza's team had the ball first, and Levy served beautifully. It flew over the net and a member of the opposing team hit it back. Once Erza saw her opening, she jumped and smashed the volleyball into the ground.

Lucy could have sworn she felt the earth crack a bit.

"That's no fair!" called one of Lucy's classmates, Mini, who has a twin brother named Gemi. "Erza's too good at this! This isn't a competition, we're just practicing!"

"You'll learn better with the taste of defeat!" exclaimed Erza as she put her hands on her hips.

"The girl is right," started Taurus. "Erza, go with the boys."

The scarlet-haired woman scoffed and said, "Fine then," and then walked off towards the track.

The game began again. The ball transferred back and forth, and Lucy could already feel the strain in her neck from turning it too much.

Finally, the game was tied and Juvia was serving. She smirked.

Looking over at Levy and Cana who was doing an odd dance together, Lucy couldn't help but smile a bit. She frowned when they stopped and yelled, "Ball!"

Lucy turned her head, but was greeted with the rock hard volleyball. She fell back on the grass once the ball bounced off her head.

"Lucy!" she heard Natsu call.

Lucy stared up at the sky. She felt like she was seeing double of everything, which made her really dizzy. She could tell that people were standing above her, but she couldn't make out their faces.

"Give her some space!" growled the coach as he pushed some students back. "One of you, take her to the infirmary! Juvia, a word?"

"I'll take her!" announced Natsu.

Once Lucy's head quickly recovered, she took Natsu's hand that he was holding out. "You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine. I don't need to go to the infirmary."

"You're going to the infirmary."

Lucy sighed in defeat and let Natsu support her as he led her to Miss Vermilion's office, which would be the second time that she has been there.

"You should be more careful," said Natsu once they got inside the cool building. "It could have been much worse. You could have gotten a broken nose or something. Those aren't fun."

"I'll keep that in mind. But I'm honestly fine. I've had-"

_Worse. _But Lucy decided not to say that.

"Had...what?"

Lucy shook her head. "Nevermind."

Natsu knocked on the door to Mavis's office. The small woman opened the door, looked at Lucy, and sighed.

"I'm fine!" Lucy said.

Natsu led her into the room. The window that Lucy jumped out of last time was shut, which made Lucy felt a bit guilty. What if Mavis liked the warm breeze blowing into her room?

"What happened?" asked Mavis as she watched Natsu set Lucy down.

"She got hit in the head during volleyball," replied Natsu.

"Let me see..." Mavis performed tests on Lucy to see if she had a concussion. She shined light into Lucy's eyes. "What's your name?"

"Lucy Heartfilia."

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"What is the name of the boy who took you here?"

"Natsu."

"Well," started Mavis as she clicked the flashlight off. "You seem perfectly fine to me."

"See!" said Lucy, looking over at Natsu.

He shrugged. "Hey, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"You two go back to class now," said Miss Vermilion with a smile.

Lucy hopped off the bed and followed Natsu out and the two went back to gym.

"Lucy!" called Gray as he ran up to her.

Juvia, who was punished by sitting on the side-lines and watching the rest play, noticed Gray. Her eyes followed him as he traveled to Lucy.

"Are you okay?" asked the raven-haired man with his tone dripping with concern.

"I'm fine," Lucy replied. She looked over at Juvia and saw her piercing narrow eyes penetrating her soul.

"Don't worry about her," said Gray. "I..._we_, won't let her hurt you. Or any of her minions, like Sophia, for that matter."

Lucy nodded her head but was not confident in his words. "Thank you."

After school, Lucy went to the club room with Erza and Levy by her side. Gray and Natsu were going to have to join them later since they still had detention.

"So what are we going to do?" asked Lucy as the three headed up the stairs.

"Sports festival stuff," replied Erza. She opened the door to the club room where everyone was waiting

"Welcome!" exclaimed Mirajane as she got up from the floor. There were a ton of poster papers on the ground, and Mira was already working on one. "I got the supplies like you asked!"

"Good, good," said Erza, stepping into the room with Levy and Lucy following behind her. "Thank you all for coming to help."

"I...um...I have to go soon," started Elfman nervously. "I'll do as much as I can, though."

"_Oh?"_ said Cana with a smirk. "Going to see Ever?"

"N-No!"

Cana laughed. "I wish you could see how red your face is right now!"

"Come help me make posters," said Mirajane as she looked at Lucy and Levy. She knelt back down and grabbed her pencil as the two girls accompanied her.

"What are you putting?" asked Levy.

"_Welcome to the 30th Fairy Tail High Sports Festival!"_

"That's going to be one long poster," said Lucy.

"It's a banner that will hang across the front gates. We need posters that say stuff like, _try your best!_ or something like that."

Lucy nodded her head and grabbed a red piece of paper from the large pile. Natsu and Gray came in.

"I thought you two had detention?" questioned Gajeel as he was helping Elfman make some ads.

"Yeah," responded Gray. "But Makarov let us off the hook for now since he wants us to help. He said that we didn't need to go to any more detentions until we do something stupid again."

"Thank God!" cried Natsu out of relief. "My back was starting to hurt will all that grunt work we were doing! Hey, what do you guys want us to do?" He spotted Lucy and was about to walk over when Lisanna quickly grabbed his arm.

"I-I need your help!" she said, louder than she intended to. Natsu shrugged and followed her.

"Ne," started Mirajane as she looked up at Levy. She whispered, _"How are you and Gajeel doing?_"

Levy blushed.

"_You really like him?_" whispered Lucy.

"_S-So what?_" stammered Levy as she stole a quick glance at Gajeel who laughed at something Elfman said. "_It's not like he's going to return my feelings or anything...I'm better off just keeping quiet."_

_"_Nonsense!" said Mira. "I say, go for it!"

Lucy looked over at Natsu and noticed that Lisanna was trying hard to get as close to him as possible. She felt awkward looking at the two, since she knew how she felt.

"Aren't they cute?" asked Mira with a smile. "Natsu is just too dense to see how much she likes him, but everyone knows it."

"Mirajane...you know Loke, right?"

"Yeah, we've known each other for a while."

"Do you know why he is...weird around me?"

Mirajane looked over at Levy who gave her a shrug. "Don't look at me," she said. "I have no clue. You've known him longer than I have."

Mirajane sighed. "I...think it something to do with his past. I'm not going to say anything more. He'd never forgive me if I did."

Lucy nodded her head and pushed the issue aside so she could concentrate on making posters.

Lucy decided to leave an hour after Elfman did because she wanted to go home to talk to Virgo. The school outside the club room seemed deserted. The sun was starting to set.

Walking home, Lucy saw a man in front of her who was walking funny. Thinking he was hurt, Lucy went to go help him.

"Sir, are you-"

She smelled the strong scent of alcohol and stepped back when she realized that he was drunk.

"Hey, there, pretty woman!" said the man. He stepped towards her.

Lucy took another step back and looked at her surroundings. There was no one around. Lucy's flight mode turned on and she started to run, but her wrist was grabbed.

"Come with me," the man slurred. "We'll have a _good_ time."

"Hey!" Lucy head snapped towards a figure running towards her. His white scarf flowed behind him. "Get your hands off of her!"

"N-Natsu!" Lucy screamed as the drunk let go of Lucy.

Natsu came up to them, ready to fight.

"Back off, buddy," said the man with his arms up. He staggered back. "I didn't mean any harm to the little lady. I just thought she needed company. I didn't know she had a boyfriend."

Natsu's eyes narrowed. "Leave. _Now._"

The drunk staggered away and Lucy sighed in relief.

Natsu turned to Lucy. _"_I'm so glad I got here when I did."

"How did you know I was going to be in trouble?"

"I don't know. When I heard that you left on your own, I just followed you. Come on, I'll walk you home."

The two walked in silence. Lucy stole glances at Natsu from time to time, and eventually got curious about something. "Why do you always wear that scarf?" she asked.

Natsu noticeably tensed.

"S-Sorry," said Lucy quickly.

"No, it's fine. My...dad gave me this scarf when I was young. I've been pretty attached to it."

Lucy nodded her head. She didn't want to ask any more questions since she figured Natsu had something he didn't want to reveal as well. Discovering this, Lucy's eyebrows knitted together.

_He looks so happy all the time, _she thought, clutching her bag tight. _Something bad couldn't have possibly happened._

"We're here," said Natsu as he stopped in front of Lucy's house.

Without thinking, Lucy turned and hugged Natsu, but quickly backed away. "Sorry...I don't know what came over me. I guess I'm just really grateful that you showed up and saved me from that guy."

Natsu stepped forward and embraced Lucy. "Be more careful, okay?" he said as he pulled away.

Lucy blushed. "I will. Thank you."

She watched as he left, and a small smile formed on her face.

* * *

**I'm pretty sure I didn't write that as the ending in my notebook, but I'll make up for it next chapter**

**Noooteboook! I'll never leave you alone agaaain! **

**Fav? Follow? Reviews are always nice!**

**~Bl00dyshad0w**

**Update: So yeah...now that I got my notebook back, I had to change the ending xD I'm sorry, I feel like a jerk. There was nothing to change, actually. I just added more to it.**

**Anyways...**


	9. Melodic Laugh

**If you don't know already, I had to change the ending to the previous chapter. I just deleted a few lines and then added onto the story. Sorry, I'm an idiot and forgot my important notebook in my locker T_T**

**I'm so happy this story is turning out so well! *Squeels* **

* * *

_Recap:_

_Natsu stepped forward and embraced Lucy. "Be more careful, okay?" he said as he pulled away._

_Lucy blushed. "I will. Thank you."_

_She watched as he left, and a small smile formed on her face._

* * *

Day after day has passed. Lucy continued to go to the Fairy Tail club after school whenever they had a meeting. Natsu would glance at her from time to time and smile when he saw how more open she has become. It was a big step forward for her.

As Lisanna was talking to him about basketball, Natsu turned his head when he heard a sweet, melodic laugh that he has never heard before. His face brightened when he saw Lucy smile at something Levy said.

Lisanna stopped talking when she realized she was only talking to herself. She looked back and forth between Natsu and Lucy and pouted. "Ne, Natsu?" she said, getting the attention from him. "I need someone to practice basketball with me before the big game. Will you come with me to the gym?"

Natsu smiled. "Sure, I need a break anyways."

The two announced their departure and headed to the gymnasium. It was a weekend, so no one would be around, but Lisanna had special access to the storage room.

"Here," she said, passing a ball to Natsu as they left the storage. Natsu dribbled the ball until they got to the center of the court.

"Ready to lose?" asked Natsu with a smirk. He spun the ball on his index finger.

Lisanna grabbed the ball away from him and smiled. "Stop trying to hide your shame! Out of the hundreds of times that we have played together, you've only won a handful of them!"

"That's, uh…because I let you win."

Lisanna rolled her eyes and began dribbling. "First person to make a shot five times wins. If I win, I get to tell you something. If you win, you get to buy me ice cream later."

"I feel like this isn't in my favor. Shouldn't it be, if I win, you do something for _me_ and if you win, I do something for _you?_"

Lisanna sighed. "It's a promise I made to myself just now. So I won't lose."

Natsu laughed evilly as he eyed the ball. "We'll see about that!" Natsu lunged to steal the ball away but Lisanna turned and started dribbling towards the basket. Nastu was by her in an instant. "Don't think you can get away with that so easily!"

Lisanna stopped so her opponent was in front of her. Natsu was hunched down into a guarding stance, ready to pounce when the time was right. Lisanna faked right and Natsu fell for it. She spun around gracefully, bent her knees, aimed the ball, and then made the shot. It went in perfectly.

"Yes!" she exclaimed as she punched her fist into the air. "That's one for me!"

Natsu grunted and grabbed the ball. "I'll be the ball handler this time!" The two went back to center circle. Lisanna got into guarding position while Natsu preformed a crossover dribble.

"Stop stalling," commented Lisanna with a smirk.

Natsu looked past his opponent's shoulder and said, "Hey, Mirajane!"

Lisanna quickly turned around to see no one there as Natsu took his shot. It circled around the ring a couple times until it dropped into the basket. He smiled widely.

"Natsu…" growled Lisanna as she turned around. "You dirty cheater!"

"Sorry, I thought I saw your sister. Figment of my imagination. Sorry!"

The two continued the game until they were tied four to four. Lisanna started getting scared.

_I don't know if I'll gather up the courage to do this again if I lose…_ She thought with a bite of her lip.

"Well?" started Natsu. "What are you waiting for?"

Lisanna started dribbling. Everything happened in a blur, and before she knew it, she scored.

"Dammit!" shouted Natsu, kicking the floor. "I want a rematch!"

"Ne…" Lisanna had her back turned. She didn't want Natsu to see how red her face was. "I have to tell you something…"

Natsu picked up the ball and spun it around his finger. "What's up?"

"I-I've been feeling this way for a while. And by a while, I mean a _really_ long time. You see, I-"

The door to the gym opened and Gray stepped through. Lisanna cursed under her breath.

"Yo!" he said, his voice echoing throughout the spacious room. "Levy brought some cake! I thought you guys might want to know before everyone else eats it all up. Especially Gajeel."

"Well," started Lisanna as she took the ball away from Natsu to put it in the storage. "At least it wasn't Cana who brought the cake."

"We'll see you there, then, Lisanna!" said Natsu as he ran towards Gray. "If Gajeel eats all the cake, he's gonna pay!"

Back at the club room, Natsu slammed the door open. He eyed the empty cake plate, and then Gajeel. "You…" he growled.

"I have more cake, don't worry!" exclaimed Levy as she pulled out another plate of cake from a plastic bag. She removed the plastic cover and the sweet vanilla scent filled the air.

"Don't blame me!" growled Gajeel as he shot up from his chair. "I only had one piece!"

"I bet you gobbled it up!"

"Here we go again…" murmured Gray, who was shirtless. Lucy saw this and stared wide-eyed. Her face slowly heated up.

Natsu saw Lucy's reaction and quickly turned his anger towards Gray. "Put your shirt on, naked man!"

"I'm not naked!" yelled Gray.

"I say he should keep his shirt off!" proposed Cana with a raise of her hand. Elfman put it down for her.

Gray picked up his shirt and buttoned it back on. He looked at Natsu and _tsked._

"Oh no…" said Levy. "Shit is about to go down now!"

Lucy looked at Levy with surprise but quickly looked back at the boys. Natsu's fists where in a tight ball. His right eye started twitching. "What was that, Gray?"

Gray smirked. "Did I say something?"

"Naked man!" he lunged at Gray.

Gray dodged, which caused Natsu's face to meet with cake. Not just any cake. Erza's cake. Natsu didn't bother to wipe his face as he backed away in fear.

"_This is bad…_" whispered Mirajane as she pressed herself close to the floor. "_Erza really likes her cake!_"

Lucy noticed all the other students taking shelter at different parts of the room.

A dark aura swirled around Erza. She bent her metal fork with one hand until it broke in half. The top portion jumped off the desk and landed at Natsu's feet.

"You…" she growled as she slowly stood up. She turned her head towards Natsu and looked at him with blank eyes. "You ruined my _cake!_"

"I-I-I-I-I'm so sorry, Erza!" stammered Natsu. "I didn't mean to! I swear! It's Gray's fault for dodging!"

"Hey!" exclaimed Gray.

"_You die now!_" Erza ran towards Natsu.

The pink haired man ran towards the door with his face twisted in terror. "_I don't want to die yet!_"

The door opened and Lisanna stepped through. Looking up, she saw Natsu running towards her. Confused, she looked behind him and screamed.

"Lisanna!" shouted Natsu. He hid behind her and grabbed her shoulders. "Erza! Please take this sacrifice!"

"_W-What?"_ cried Lisanna.

Erza stopped running and sighed. She took Lisanna's wrist and said, "This will do. Come, Lisanna!"

Natsu grinned as he watched Erza drag off a hysteric Lisanna.

"Where is she taking her?" asked Lucy.

Mirajane got up off the floor and patted the dirt off her short skirt. "Erza has this…_obsession _with dressing people up. Mainly Levy and Lisanna. Make sure you never give her that chance, Lucy, or you will never see the end of it."

Levy cringed at a terrible memory.

Everyone continued working like nothing happened, but Natsu joined Lucy's group after he cleaned his face.

"Natsu, what are you doing?" asked Levy.

Natsu turned to Lucy. "Why did the cookie go to the hospital?"

Lucy looked around to see everyone looking their way, curious. "Uh…why?"

"Because he felt…" Natsu held back a laugh. "_Crumby."_

"Ha!" exclaimed Cana as she slapped her leg a couple times. "Good one!"

No one else laughed.

Natsu tried again. "No good? Okay. Why was the baby strawberry crying?"

Lucy blinked at few times.

"Because his mom and dad were in a…_Pfft…Jam!_"

Cana was the only one who laughed.

"Okay, okay," said Natsu. "One more, one more. What do you call a fake noodle?"

Natsu paused, waiting for a response but gave up. "An _impasta!_"

Cana and Natsu laughed together. Gajeel was fighting with himself as he forced a frown, but his mouth resisted and wanted to turn upwards.

"Oi, flame-brain," said Gray. "Please stop while you're ahead. This is just sad."

"Oh come on!" cried Natsu. "The _impasta_ one was pretty funny! Right, Luce?" he turned to Lucy expectantly. Not knowing what to do, she shrugged.

Levy carried her plate of cake towards Gajeel whose back was towards her. She dipped her finger into the vanilla frosting and said, "Hey, Gajeel!"

The largely built man turned around. Levy swiped her frosted finger across his nose. He stood there, stunned, as the blue haired girl laughed. "Just your color!" she said.

_They would make a great couple_, thought Lucy. She watched as Gajeel got his revenge by swiping frosting on Levy's face as well.

Looking over a few feet, Lucy noticed Elfman texting wildly. Mirajane leaned towards Lucy and said, "He's texting Evergreen."

"Who is Evergreen? Is she an upperclassman?"

Mira laughed. "No. She goes to a wealthy school on the opposite side of Magnolia. I heard from Elfman that we will be having transfer students from there in the near future. One of them is going to be Ever. I haven't met her yet, but I'm sure she's nice."

"Speaking of texting," started Cana as she held her phone out. "Let's get Lucy's number!"

"Y-You're really okay with that?" asked Lucy as she hesitantly brought her phone from her pocket.

"Of course!" said Mirajane.

Lucy got everyone's number, except for Gajeel who didn't have a phone. She kept scrolling up and down through her contacts, amazed she had more than one number.

"I'll give you Erza's too," said Mira as she put the number in. "She's the student council president _and_ our club leader, after all."

"Thank you. I have to go home now, though. Thanks for the cake."

"Anytime!" said Levy.

Lucy looked at Natsu who held a look of worry. "It's the busiest time of the weekend. There are going to be plenty of people out shopping and stuff. I'll be fine."

"What happened?" asked Levy with a concerned tone.

Natsu kept looking at Lucy. "You sure?"

Lucy got up and grabbed her bag. "Yeah! Don't worry. I'll…text you when I get home, I guess."

"What happened?" repeated Levy. Mirajane smacked her arm.

"A drunk man approached me some time ago, but nothing happened," said Lucy.

"A drunk man?" questioned Levy. "Serious?"

"Nothing happened my ass," muttered Natsu. "I should have punched him into oblivion."

"Yeah, you should have!" yelled Gray. "Who is this guy! I'll find him!"

"I really have to go," said Lucy nervously as she headed for the door. "Bye."

Lucy let out a sigh as she stood at the front gates. "What a day." She took a detour and stopped by the stands to get a snack to go, but she saw Loke. He was arguing with the manager of the hamburger stand.

"Just take it back!" said Loke.

"I made it, you pay it!" responded the man on the other side. "You can't just tell me to make a burger and then expect to get it for free!"

"I told you already! I don't know where my wallet is!"

"You're going to pay for it somehow!"

"Um…" Lucy interrupted. She held out cash to the manager. "Is this enough?"

The manager yanked it out of her hands and eyed Loke. "You got lucky, punk. Make sure it doesn't happen again. Especially my stand."

"Don't worry," growled Loke. "I'm not going back to a place with terrible service."

The manager looked like he was about to explode, so Lucy followed Loke who was already walking away. He bit into his sandwich angrily.

"You didn't have to help me!" yelled Loke once the two were away from the crowd.

"Just returning the favor."

"Good. Now you can leave me alone."

"Wait!" Loke stopped and Lucy looked down nervously. "Please tell me why you're scared of me so I can put my mind at ease."

"Why should I tell you something that personal when you don't tell others anything? How do I even know I can trust you?"

Lucy opened her mouth but then quickly closed it. Loke was right, but he still stood there, looking out towards the distance.

"Karen Lilica…" he said quietly, but was loud enough for Lucy to hear.

"The name on your ring?"

Loke's hands balled into fists. "She raised me."

"Is she your mother?"

Loke let out, "_Ha!_" causing Lucy to jump a bit. She followed him when he walked towards the railing and leaned against it. "No blood ties. She took care of me after my parents died when I was just three. I didn't have any other family to go to, so she became my legal guardian."

Lucy waited for Loke to continue.

"At the age of ten, Karen started introducing me to sex."

Lucy's mouth dropped. She couldn't find any words, yet her head was swarming with questions.

"I had to call her _Mistress_ Karen. I couldn't do anything without asking for her permission. Please, Mistress Karen, may I use the restroom? _Disgusting._ I was submissive. When I was fourteen, she involved a younger girl into the mix. I couldn't stand and watch as Karen let these men touch this girl, so I gathered up my courage and went to the police. The men, and Karen, were sent to prison. A few weeks later, Karen killed herself by drinking rubbing alcohol."

Lucy let the heavy air wash over them. She didn't say a word until sometime later when an important question came to mind. "Thank you for telling me, Loke. That must have been difficult. But…that aside, why does this involve me?"

"Karen was blonde before she started dying her hair green. She also has brown eyes. Just like yours."

Loke turned and quickly walked away. Lucy watched him go.

Continuing home, Lucy caught sight of Juvia sitting down on a bench by herself. She seemed to be staring blankly at nothing. There was no other way around without being noticed, so Lucy walked forward.

"You make me mad," said Juvia once Lucy got close. "He's supposed to be mine…"

Lucy froze, worried that Juvia might jump at her. As quickly as a scowl formed on Juvia's face, she sighed and closed her eyes. "I don't even have enough energy to yell at you. Just leave."

Lucy nodded her head and quickly headed off, sighing in relief. When she got home, she remembered to text Natsu that she arrived safely.

* * *

**Ahm...Fifty Shades, anyone? :o **

**Fav...Follow...Reviews are nice too!**

**~Bl00dyshad0w**


	10. Sports!

**Aw man I'm so late on this -_- School, health problems, you know how it is.**

**WELL. At least I posted something on valentine's day! **

**Bit boring though. I'm not a sports person.**

* * *

_Recap:_

_Lucy froze, worried that Juvia might jump at her. As quickly as a scowl formed on Juvia's face, she sighed and closed her eyes. "I don't even have enough energy to yell at you. Just leave."_

_Lucy nodded her head and quickly headed off, sighing in relief. When she got home, she remembered to text Natsu that she arrived safely._

* * *

Time flew by. Even though Lucy was getting used to being around company, she felt a bit lonely since she couldn't get into contact with Virgo as much. It was her dad who usually picked up the phone.

But the Sports Festival finally arrived. Lucy was going to be busy for a few days. Everyone was encouraged to join at least one, so Lucy, along with plenty of other people, joined track. Because of Levy, Lucy was forced into long jumping, only to find out that Levy wasn't even in it.

"I hope you've all been preparing!" shouted Gildarts as he tied a white sash around his head. Cana came around and handed everyone a sash as well. "We're going to be going up against Wakabe and Macao's class! We are _not_ going to lose! Losing is _not _an option! Do not bring this team down! Everyone with me?!" Gildarts got on top of his desk and threw his hands up in the air, waiting for his class to roar.

"What about the other teams?" asked Mini.

"No one cares about them!" continued Gildarts as he got off his desk. "The schedule of the sports is posted literally everywhere, so you shouldn't have trouble figuring out what's happening. The first event will be martial arts, so everyone, don't worry! We've got Erza on that!"

"And me!" exclaimed Natsu with a raise of his hand.

Lucy looked over at Erza's empty seat and wondered where she was.

"Alright, student!" said Gildarts. "You better be on time for the events! I'll meet you all outside for the opening ceremony!"

Everyone got up from their seats and noisily made their way downstairs. Lucy stuck with Levy. "Where is Erza?" Lucy asked.

"Since she is the student council president, she has to make a little speech to the school."

"Erza is amazing," Lucy said with awe.

"Let's sit together, Lucy!" exclaimed Natsu, coming out of nowhere.

"Gray and Gajeel are going to be lonely without you," said Levy as she hopped down to the bottom of the stairs.

"No we won't," said Gray, also coming out of nowhere. "Because we'll also be sitting by you guys."

Levy pouted. "And here I thought I was going to have Lucy all to myself!"

Outside, the chairs that the Fairy Tail Guild set up were being occupied by student after student. The team spent hours setting up the school for this moment.

"Hurry!" started Levy. "Before all the chairs get taken! I don't want to stand up the whole entire time!"

Levy led Lucy and the three boys to an empty row and they quickly took their seats. Levy was on the edge, followed by Lucy, Natsu, Gajeel, and then Gray.

"Why the hell am I all the way over here?" growled Gray as he crossed his arms.

Natsu turned towards him and stuck his tongue out.

"Good Morning, Fairy Tail High students!" exclaimed Marakov as he stood on top of the platform. All the students hushed as they listened to their principal. "Today is the long awaited Fairy Tail High sports festival!"

The crowd cheered. Makarov continued.

"I am very proud to be the principal of such hard working students. Remember, this is just for fun! Don't beat yourself or others for losing! Now I'll turn the time over to our student council-"

Erza snatched the microphone from him. "Student council president speaking! Forget what Makarov just said! Win, win, _win_! Give it your _all!_"

Students cheered loudly, and half of the body stood up with their fists in the air.

"You can stop when you're _dead!_"

Coach Taurus was heard in the background. "_And make use of your sexy bodies!_"

Erza placed her hands on her hips. "Let the games..._begin!_"

"What's the first event again?" asked Lucy as she got up with the rest of the dispersing crowd.

"Martial arts," said Natsu with a grin. "And I'm in it!"

"Me too," said Gajeel.

"So am I," said Gray. "But since Erza is in it, we'll most likely win."

"Are there a lot of people participating?" asked Lucy.

"Levy," started Gajeel. "You should explain how it works. I'm still not even sure since I never pay attention."

"Well…" pondered Levy as the four made their way to the gym. "If more people from the same class joins a competition, then their chances are of scoring their team points are higher. Only first, second, and third get points. Fifty points, thirty points, and ten points. But those only count for some competitions that have more than two teams competing against each other. If there are too many participants who are from one class, then other teachers have to force their students to join or eliminate some. Track is always on the second day because there are so many participants and the event takes a long time. That's basically it. Third years always try the hardest since it's their last year here, but I know that we are definitely going to win this year!" Levy punched the air as they neared the gym. Gray, Natsu, and Gajeel left to quickly get ready. They were supposed to change into something comfortable to move in.

Lucy felt like her head was spinning from all the confusing information.

Once the girls stepped into the room, screams, shouts, and applause were heard.

"Yeah! Go Erza!"

"I love you, Erza!"

"Mirajane is the best!"

"_Mirajane!_"

Once the two girls got a better view, they saw Erza and Mirajane in their tank tops and sweat pants. The two were looking at each other, but it wasn't in a friendly way. It was scary.

The sweet aura that Mirajane had was gone, and it was replaced with a killer's intent.

"I didn't know Mirajane…" started Lucy as she continued to stare curiously.

"Erza is another one of Mirajane's childhood friends," started Levy. "When Mira was younger, she was uncontrollable. People called her _Mira the Terrible_ because of how much she got into trouble. She picked fights, stole, lied, and etcetera. Once Erza showed up, Mira finally found herself a worthy opponent. Not even our hot blooded Natsu could withstand Mira's wrath. She started calming down on her final year of middle school."

"Why did Mirajane act like that before?"

Levy bit her lip. "Her and her siblings...had family problems. Mira was practically the only one taking care of her little siblings."

More participants started to come in.

"Are they going to separate the boys and the girls?" asked Lucy.

Levy chuckled. "Yeah. There's going to be one winner from the boys and the girls, but we all know that the boy's side doesn't stand a chance with some of the best fighters in the school in our class. As for the girls...it's going to be a tough battle between Erza and Mirajane. Erza couldn't participate last year because of student council business, and it made her sad since she looked forward to it."

The girls and the boys split into two. In the back of the gym, there was a large whiteboard with an equally large tournament bracket. The freshmen were going to start first.

_They're all so skilled,_ thought Lucy in awe.

Lucy didn't know how long it was before Levy started talking again since she was so engrossed in the fights.

"I bet everyone is patiently waiting for Erza and Mirajane," said Levy as she clapped along with everyone else. "I can't wait! This is going to be so awesome! _Oh_, look! It's over already!"

"Our class is going to fight the other second years?"

"Yes! It's not going to be much of a fight though."

Levy was right. Erza was up against a girl from Macao's class. She was knocked out of the ring a second after they were told to start. It seemed the same way on the boy's side.

Coach Capricorn walked up to the boys and told them something inaudible. A moment later, Natsu raised his hand. "I will fight for Gildart's class!"

Gajeel pushed him. "Like hell you will! I'll do it!"

"You two are way too thick headed anyways. I'll do it," said Gray as he crossed his arms.

Levy leaned towards Lucy. "It seems like too many boys from our class won and Capricorn needs to eliminate someone."

"I just need two!" said Capricorn. "We'll settle this over straws!" The coach brought out a few straws out of nowhere and held them out. "Choose wisely."

The three boys each grabbed hold of a straw and pulled. Natsu and Gray cheered while Gajeel''s eye twitched. He got the short straw.

"Oh no…" pouted Levy. "I was really hoping to see him fight…"

Capricorn patted Gajeel's shoulder.

Levy cupped her hands around her mouth. "_Gajeeel! Come over here!"_ She started waving her hands around to get Gajeel's attention. He looked at her through the crowd and gave her a small smile.

Once Gajeel stood next to the two girls, he grunted. "I always lose at that game."

The second years made way for the third years, and all eyes were on Mirajane. She seemed like her average self without Erza standing next to her. Lucy felt like the upperclassman was out of place, since she seemed way too sweet to be in a fight.

Mirajane was up against a girl named Kagura. Lucy's seen her around school before and noticed that she always looked expressionless. Kagura's long black hair was fashioned with a white headband, and her narrow brown eyes were wide open and focused.

"This is going to be interesting," started Levy. "Kagura is a really good fighter as well. I'm not sure if she can match Mirajane, though…"

"Kagura is creepy," commented Gajeel. "I don't think I've seen her talk to anyone before."

The fight started. It was almost like someone flipped Mirajane's switch, and she was back to the way she was earlier. Evil aura and all.

Mira threw her fist at her opponent, but Kagura gracefully side-stepped. Mira continued throwing hit after hit, but Kagura kept dodging. Finally, the raven haired girl started attacking. Her face still looked as impassive as ever.

"I can tell you're getting tired," said Mirajane with a smirk as she crouched down for a sweep kick.

Kagura was standing an inch by the circle of red tape and didn't have time to move. Mira's sweep kick sent her to the ground, past the tape.

"Go Mira!" shouted Levy. Everyone threw their hands up and cheered.

As Mira was enjoying the spotlight, Lucy centered in on Kagura. Her face showed no sign of defeat as she got up and dusted her clothes off. She walked away from the gym floor, and Lucy pushed her to the side of her mind.

"Gray is up against Lyon…" said Gajeel.

Lucy's eyes widened. "Uh-Oh…"

As Natsu and Erza wiped out their opponents, Gray and Lyon were still at it. It seemed as though their strength was equally match and they were both noticeably breathing heavily.

"I love you, Gray!" cried Juvia from somewhere in the crowd.

Lyon looked crushed. Whatever energy left him came back, and he attacked harder and faster. Gray couldn't keep up and was eventually kicked out of the circle. The silver haired male looked over at Juvia as he panted.

Juvia looked down.

It was Natsu's turn to go up against the victor, but Lyon forfeited.

Natsu got mad and stomped his foot like a little child as he ordered Lyon to come back and fight him, but he was ignored.

"White team gets fifty points," said Capricorn. Natsu continued to pout.

Finally, the fight that everyone has been waiting for. Erza and Mirajane stepped inside their circle.

"Erza is definitely going to win!"

"No way. Mirajane is going to kick her ass."

Bets were being placed throughout the gym. Even the teachers were joining in.

The fight started, but Lucy already had trouble keeping up. It seemed like their limbs were blurred with how fast they were, and Lucy was surprised they still had so much energy.

"Give up!" cried Mirajane. "You don't stand a chance!"

"I've kicked your ass so many times in the past. What makes you think I can't do it again?" questioned Erza, throwing a punch.

"You haven't been practicing as much, have you?" Mirajane grabbed her wrist. "Been spending too much time with _him?_" Erza stiffened. Seeing her window of opportunity, Mirajane tossed Erza out of the circle.

The whole room was silent.

After a few moments, Capricorn cleared his throat and said, "Green team gets fifty points!"

"What the hell just happened…" questioned Gajeel. They all watched as Erza and Mirajane stared at each other before they both took off to get changed. Some students helped set up for basketball.

"Gajeel and I have to help with some food stalls now," said Levy, turning to Lucy. "Will you be okay? I'm sure Gray and or Natsu will join you in a moment."

Lucy smiled and nodded her head. Once she was alone, she noticed Lisanna get together with her team dressed in blue jerseys. Only two classes were participating in basketball, which made it much easier for scoring. Lucy knew that there were a couple of events going on at the same time as basketball, but she didn't want to move from her spot.

"Lucy!"

Said woman turned her head to see Natsu jogging up to her. When he got to Lucy she said, "Congratulations on winning."

Natsu scoffed. "Winning by default is not really winning. That damn Lyon. I was really hoping for a good fight. I'm just surprised Erza lost quickly."

"Yeah...do you know what happened?"

"I have no clue. It's no use trying to find her for the rest of the day, though. Student council business. She's just lucky that she at least got to participate in something."

The game started. Lisanna dribbled the ball and protected it from the person behind her. She quickly passed the ball to one of her team members and then looked at Natsu and Lucy.

This kept happening throughout the game, which made Lucy uncomfortable. She was sure Lisanna didn't like her being so close to her crush, so while Natsu was busy cheering on Lisanna, she quietly walked away.

"I wonder where I should go before long jump starts," Lucy questioned herself. She noticed a large group of people gathered around the large school swimming pool and decided to give it a look herself.

On top of one of the diving boards, Lucy saw Gray in his white swim cap and dark swim trunks. People cheered for him as he got into his diving position. The coach shot the starting pistol into the air and all the males dove gracefully into the water.

_He's fast!_ thought Lucy. In no time at all, he was well ahead of the pack.

"Fifty for white, thirty for orange, and ten for yellow!" cried the swimming coach.

Gray pulled himself out of the water and the girls nearly fainted. Lucy's face boiled from heat. The coach, who was also a woman, had a flushed face as well. "Fullbuster! Get your trunks!" she cried.

Gray turned around towards the pool, which made the girls on the other side blush. He saw his black swim trunks floating on top of the water.

After everyone recovered from the incident, the girls stepped up to the diving boards. One of them was Juvia.

"I'll win for you, Gray!" she cried as she fastened her goggles on her face. The girl next to her was tall and had long light blue hair. She scoffed at Juvia as she fastened her goggles on as well.

The starting pistol was shot once again and the girls were in the water in an instant. It seemed to Lucy that Juvia and the girl next to her were somehow part of the water itself.

"Yeah, Aquarius!" shouted a male in the crowd. He had dark skin and half of his hair was red while the other side was white.

Aquarius sped up, as if she was holding back the entire time. Lap after lap, Juvia tried to keep up, but she wasn't able to finish first.

"Fifty for green, thirty for blue, and ten for purple!" cried the coach.

Lucy walked up to the wall to read the schedule. Long jump would be starting soon and she needed to get to the field. She jogged the way there and saw Elfman and Lisanna.

"Hey, Lucy!" said Elfman as he waved her over.

"How was basketball?" Lucy asked Lisanna.

The underclassman smiled and said while throwing her hands in the air, "We won!"

"That's not much of a surprise," commented Elfman as he rubbed his sister's head. "She's an amazing basketball player.

"How about weight lifting?" asked Lisanna.

"I'm a man. I won because of my manliness."

"Students!" called Coach Taurus. "Line your sexy bodies up behind the red tape!"

Lisanna quickly stood at the front, ready for the coach's signal. When it was given, she sprinted as fast as she could, jumped, and then landed on the sand.

"Six point seven meters!" shouted the coach's assistant. "Excellent!"

After raking the sand, it was Elfman's turn. "Wish me luck!" he said to Lucy who stood behind him.

Instead of a graceful landing, like one that Lisanna pulled off, Elfman somehow landed on his face.

"Let it count!" said Taurus.

The assistant measured the faceplant. "Five meters!"

Lucy breathed in deeply as she waited for the sand to be raked. She felt nervous, but when she heard the signal, her legs moved on their own. After jumping in the air, she felt like everything was happening in slow motion. She has never jumped so high before, and loved the feeling of cutting through the wind. Lucy dropped on the soft sand and then quickly moved out of the way.

"Seven meters!" said the assistant. "Even better than Lisanna's!"

Lisanna pouted.

Lucy quickly left the event without knowing who won. She bought herself a drink from the vending machine and moved herself to an unoccupied room.

"This day is almost done," she sighed happily. She was tired, even though she only participated in one sport. Lucy opened the tab to her soda and it let out a loud hissing noise.

Footsteps came into the room. Lucy turned around to see the brown haired girl named Sophia. They looked at each other in surprise until Sophia narrowed her eyes.

"_You,_" she growled.

Lucy gulped. Everyone was outside, so there would be no witnesses around when Sophia drives a knife into her heart.

All off a sudden, Sophia's eyes softened and then narrowed just as quickly. "You better watch yourself tomorrow, Blondie."

Lucy shivered as she watched Sophie exit the room. Gajeel walked by a few moments later, and did a double take when he noticed Lucy from the corner of his eyes.

"There you are!" he said. "Levy sent me to find you. Cana is doing gymnastics and we thought you would be interested to see it."

"Cana? Gymnastics? Seriously?"

"I know, right? Come on, you can drink your soda when we get there."

The two made their way back to the gym where the mats were set up. The gymnasts were at one side of the room stretching. Except for Cana. She was looking around for someone.

Levy found Gajeel and Lucy. "There you guys are!" she exclaimed. "I was looking everywhere! They're just about to start their floor routines!"

One of the girls stepped onto one of the corners of the mat and waited for the music to play. When the first beat was heard, she started sprinting. She jumped and then started doing flips to the other end of the mat where she struck a pose.

"Amazing!" exclaimed Lucy.

The beat went on, as did the girl as she did flips and mixed in a few dance moves here and there. Girl after girl performed until Cana finally stepped forward.

Lucy observed her. Cana's brows knitted together as she looked down. "Why does she look so...sad?"

"I don't know…" responded Levy. "Maybe she doesn't want to perform…"

Cana regained her composure and stood up straight in her white leotard. Slow music started playing, and Cana started moving. She was graceful and poised, which surprised Lucy. Cana would always be hunched over in class and showed no sign of grace, but when she stepped onto the mat, she was a completely different person.

"It's like she's doing ballet!" exclaimed Levy as she put her hands on her cheeks. "She looks so beautiful!"

Cana danced to the center when she heard Gildarts yell her name.

"_Cana! You got this!_"

Cana's head snapped towards Gildarts as she posed for the long beat. She smiled. Then, the beat suddenly became fast, and Cana was flying across the mat. It was almost hard to keep up with how fast she was moving, and here and there she would pose. When she finished, everyone was screaming her name.

After the judges decided the winners, they passed it onto the coach who was at the pool earlier.

"Ten points to green, thirty points to red, and fifty points...to white!"

Lucy threw her hands up and cheered with Levy. "Cana's the best!" they cried.

As students helped with putting stuff away, Levy asked Lucy, "Are you going to come watch volleyball? I'm playing!"

The three walked outside where four different nets were set up, far enough from each other so that it wouldn't be disrupted by another group. Levy ran over to one with other white team students.

"We could win this easily if Erza was here. Lisanna's team is probably going to dominate," said Gajeel, looking at the other team.

"Don't say that," said Lucy. "Levy is a good player."

"Yeah…" Gajeel looked at Levy, and Lucy saw a bit of sadness in his eyes.

White team was up against the orange team. There was a girl there who had curly pink hair and pale skin. When the ball came to her, she whacked it over the net. Orange scored.

"Aires normally doesn't do sports," started Gajeel. "But she's insanely good at volleyball. Not as good as Erza, but probably good enough to win."

Lucy watched as the white team struggled to keep up with the ball. Two girls collided and bumped heads, which caused them to visit Mavis.

"Orange team wins this match!" said Coach Capricorn. "Now it's orange against blue!"

Levy walked up to Gajeel and Lucy in defeat. "We totally sucked."

"You tried your best," comforted Lucy.

"But it wasn't good enough!"

"Yes it is," said Gajeel. "Win or lose, you still did an amazing job."

Levy looked up at him with a smile. "Being nice doesn't fit in with your appearance, Gajeel."

"Shut up!"

Lucy checked the time on her phone. "Isn't this pretty much one of the last events? Are we allowed to go home now?"

"Attention!" came Makarov from the speakers. A painful feedback followed. "Thank you all for your participation in today's sports festival! We'll see you again tomorrow for track! Have a wonderful evening!"

"You can't leave," said Gajeel. "You're part of the club, which means we have to stay and help clean up."

Lucy grunted.

After what seemed like years, Lucy finally picked up the last piece of trash. Everyone but some of the Fairy Tail Guild members who went home. Sighing, she did so as well, hoping that no one drunk would approach her again. She held onto her house keys in her pocket, just in case.

As she was walking, Lucy spotted a pink haired man with a familiar white scarf leaning against the railings overlooking the canal. She approached him. He was wearing a large backpack.

"N-Natsu?" she stammered. He turned to her. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you since the basketball tournament…"

"I had to leave early," he responded as he continued to look out into the distance. "I was called back into the apartments. The landlady found out about Happy and now…"

"She kicked you out?"

Natsu nodded his head.

"What about Happy?"

"He's in my bag. I'm supposed to come back tomorrow to get the rest of my things, but I don't even have a place to stay the night."

"Well...what about Gray? Can you stay with him?"

Natsu sighed. "The guys I know who would let me stay with them either live in the student apartments or live with their rich parents who hate me. I guess this is okay...It's not the first time that I've slept outdoors before."

Lucy bit her lip. _You can sleep over at my house. I have two extra rooms._ Was what she wanted to say, but after what happened with Lyon, it didn't come out. She then started to question what kind of life Natsu had.

"Don't feel bad," started Natsu as he looked at Lucy with a smile. "It will be okay."

His smile was so genuine that it made Lucy's eyes water. He was about to ask what was wrong when she grabbed his wrist and started running.

"Where are you taking me?" questioned Natsu. Lucy didn't respond. When they stopped in front of her house, Natsu sighed. "Luce, I would never do anything bad to you, but I don't think this is a good idea."

"Natsu, I'm not going to let you sleep out in the streets where there are drunks and crazy people roaming around at night. Just...think of it as a way of protecting me. Just in case anyone decides to break in."

Natsu smiled. "Thank you, Lucy."

* * *

**...At least it's Natsu this time! :3 But uuuugh so much sports. Whhhyy. *Cries in a corner* **

**I'm sure a lot of you may be thinking that the events and stuff were kind of weird, but...yeah. They were. I just wanted to mix a whole bunch of things together. **

**Oh geez I have to share this story...You don't need to read this if you don't want to...so when I was living in the Philippines (I was about ten/eleven at the time), our school had a sports festival (or whatever) and I signed up for swimming because my mom was a champion swimmer back in the day. I wore a bikini and I stuffed my bra with fabric from my blazer because the top was so thin...and on top of swimming really badly and coming in last, the fabric came out and was just floating around for everyone to see. I died. xD **


	11. Pace Yourself

**Hellooo and welcome back!**

**I tried making a cover for this. I failed miserably T_T **

* * *

_Recap:_

_"Natsu, I'm not going to let you sleep out in the streets where there are drunks and crazy people roaming around at night. Just...think of it as a way of protecting me. Just in case anyone decides to break in."_

_Natsu smiled. "Thank you, Lucy."_

* * *

Lucy woke up on her fluffy white bed. She sat up and rubbed her head, not caring about her messy hair. She yawned as she got up and walked to the kitchen where she was going to make some breakfast.

She froze when she stepped into the kitchen. Eggs were splattered on the wall, bread was scattered on the counter top, and milk was spilled on the floor. A blue cat was licking it up. In the middle of the wreckage stood Natsu, in only red pajama bottoms, with food on his face. He rubbed the back of his head as he gave Lucy a nervous laugh. "I tried to make us some breakfast, but…"

Lucy rubbed her eyes and continued staring. _It actually _happened?_ I actually let him stay with me? _She thought.

"Please don't get mad!" exclaimed Natsu as he grabbed a rag from under the sink. "I'll clean it up before we go to school, I swear!" He got down on his hands and knees and started to clean up the mess.

"I-It's fine. We should get breakfast on the way…Actually, now that I think about it, I don't think we should walk to school together…"

Natsu stopped cleaning to look up at Lucy. "Why?"

"Why? Imagine what people would think if they found out that you're here! Not to mention we'd get in trouble!"

Natsu looked down. "I guess you're right…No one knows that I was kicked out. It's only a matter of time, though…and I have to get my stuff after the race…"

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'll figure something out. You should go get ready."

Lucy nodded her head and went back upstairs. She slipped on the school's white tee-shirt and black running shorts. After putting her hair into a high ponytail, she went downstairs and was surprised to see that the kitchen looked spotless.

"That was fast…" mumbled Lucy as she looked around for Natsu. He wasn't around, but Happy was curled up on the couch.

"See you, Happy," whispered Lucy as she passed by the blue cat. She went out the door and made her way back to school. "That Natsu better not snoop in my stuff…"

When Lucy arrived at the gates, she saw many students, teachers, and parents scattered around. More than the other day.

"Lucy!" cried Levy as she jogged up in her white shirt that had the number thirty pinned to it. "I'm so glad that you're here! The race is about to start in about twenty minutes, so you better go sign in!"

Lucy followed Levy to the registry table where she was going to acquire her racing number. After pinning the number forty-five to her shirt Levy asked, "I wonder where Natsu is…"

_Probably busy wiping raw egg off his cheek, _Lucy thought as she looked over at the gate. _I really hope he'll get here soon…"_

Lucy turned her head back around when Gray walked up to the two girls. His number said nineteen.

"Natsu really isn't here yet?" he questioned. "I didn't see him when I was walking out this morning. That asshole better not have slept in."

"I-I'm sure he'll be here soon!" stammered Lucy.

Levy mumbled, "Speak of the devil…"

Looking back at the gate, Lucy saw Natsu sprinting towards them. "Don't start without me!" he cried.

"We haven't even started yet, flame brain," said Gray as he crossed his arms. "You better hurry and get your number. If Lucy is forty-five, that means that there are less than fifteen available spots."

"_Fifteen?_" Natsu pushed past the group and ran to the registry table.

"_Everyone!_" shouted Erza who was standing on the small stage. "The race will begin in ten minutes! I repeat! _Ten_ minutes! Get ready to run thirty-two kilometers!"

"_Thirty-two?"_ questioned Lucy. "Isn't that…twenty miles?"

"Yeah," said Gajeel, appearing behind the group wearing the number twenty-nine. "No sweat. Didn't you get the map?"

"Map? What map?"

Levy smiled. "I'll get you one! I'll be back in a sec!" The blue haired girl took off.

Natsu came back wearing the number sixty. "I got the last one!" he said proudly. He turned to Gajeel and Gray and started making up excuses when they asked why he was so late.

Lucy looked over at Juvia and Sophia. The two were standing away from the crowd and whispering things to each other. They had anxiety written on their faces. When Sophia looked up and made eye contact with Lucy, she quickly walked away and led Juvia to the starting line.

"Lucy…_Lucy!_" Levy's voice brought Lucy back to the group. "I got you a map!" She handed the blonde a rolled up piece of paper. After opening, Lucy examined the contents.

"We have to go through the market district, the woods, a really big neighborhood, the town square, and then back to school." Lucy could already feel her legs aching.

"It will be fine!" comforted Levy. "Just pace yourself. Besides, you're already a great runner. You'll probably win this thing for us! When I checked the scores a moment ago, I saw that we're behind the green team by ten points!"

"To the starting point!" said Erza. She tied her white sash around her head and yelled into the microphone, "Kick their asses, white team!"

Everyone in Gildart's class, but Lucy, threw their fist into the air and roared.

Everyone walked to the starting points and then lined up according to their numbers. Levy wished Natsu and Lucy good luck before heading to the middle of the large group with Gajeel. Gray made his way to the front.

Natsu put his hand on Lucy's shoulder and smiled. "Good luck, Luce."

Lucy gave him a nod before he made his way to the end of the line.

Coach Capricorn was holding the starting pistol. He aimed it up the air and said, "On your mark…get set…" The pistol was fired and the group set off.

"Pace your sexy bodies, students!" exclaimed Coach Taurus.

"_Go white team, go!_" Gildarts, with the help of a couple other students who didn't join the race, were holding up a large banner that read, "_Win this game or it's extra work for five months!_"

That was good motivation to get the white team moving.

In a blink of an eye, Natsu was already in front of Lucy. He turned around for a brief moment to give her a salute before passing other students. Lucy decided speed up as well. After a few minutes, she was already behind Levy.

"What happened to pacing yourself?" questioned Levy with a pout. "Gajeel took off sprinting once he saw that Natsu passed him. Typical."

"I'll just hang back here with you. With Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel on our side, we'll surely win."

With how slow they were running, the two were last. They were at the market place, and they could only see a few people in front of them. As they neared the woods, the watchers lessened until there was none to be seen. Lucy felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.

"U-Um…Levy?" The two slowed to a stop as Lucy pulled out her phone and saw that the call was from the mansion. "I need to take this so…I'll catch up with you later."

"No problem!"

Levy jogged off as Lucy walked over to a vending machine to buy some water. She dialed the mansion's number as her the machine was bringing her water to her. Holding her phone to her ear, Lucy grabbed the water and walked over to a bench.

"Lucy?" came Virgo's voice.

"Virgo! I'm so glad you called! I've been trying to get into contact with you, but…"

"I know…did the race start yet?"

"It started a while ago. I'm just taking a break."

"But what about winning?"

"I don't think that's possible anymore. There are boys in my class who are really athletic, and I'm sure they're close to the finish line by now. I've been in last with my friend."

"Well…at least you kept your friend company. You're a really good person, Lucy."

"Thanks. Not as good as you."

While there was a long silence, Lucy took big gulps of water.

"Hey," started Virgo. "You haven't let that guy in the house again, did you?"

Lucy choked on her water. After her coughing fit, Lucy regained composure and said, "I have no idea what you're talking about. What guy?"

"That Lyon guy!"

"N-No! He hasn't been in the house at all!"

"Are you lying to me?"

"No!"

"But you're keeping something from me…"

Lucy bit her lip. She rarely lied to Virgo because of how much it hurt. The maid sighed and said, "It's alright, Lucy. Sorry…it's just-I really miss you and I'm just use to having you all to myself. I keep forgetting that you're a beautiful grown woman. Everyone has secrets they don't want to share, even with the people that they love the most…anyways, I'll let you get back to your race. Call me later when you get home. I'll make sure I'll pick up, okay?"

"Alright Virgo. I love you."

"I love you too."

After Virgo hung up, Lucy took another gulp of her water.

She heard the sound of metal against her head before passing out.

Levy looked behind her and still saw no sign of Lucy. "Must be one important call," she said to herself. Looking down, she spotted a ring. Levy picked it up and realized that it was Loke's, and in front of her, she could barely make out his wild orange hair.

"Loke!" exclaimed Levy, jogging up the male. "You dropped this!" she handed him the ring. "Be careful next time!"

"Thanks, Levy. Wasn't Lucy with you?"

"Yeah, but she had to take a call. I would have thought that she would have caught up by now but I've seen no sign of her." Levy gasped. "What if she's _lost?_"

"Does she not have a map?"

"I gave her one…I don't know. Maybe I should go back-"

"It's alright, I'll get her. You finish the race."

"A-Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Levy smiled. "Thanks, Loke. You always act like you don't care about her, but you really do."

"Oh shut up and run."

Levy laughed as she continued forward while Loke went back.

Lucy slowly opened her eyes and was able to make out the blur of trees before squeezing them shut again due to pain. She was about to touch her head when she realized she couldn't move her arms. She tried to speak, but there was duct tape stuck to her mouth.

After the pain died down, Lucy was able to focus on what was going on. There were two men in black ski masks standing above her.

Lucy tried to scream as she wiggled onto her front and tried to use her knees to crawl away.

"Now that's what I like to see!" said one of the men. He straddled Lucy like a horse. "Giddy-up, bitch! Yo, get some pictures of this!"

The second man took out his smart phone and started to take pictures. Lucy collapsed and was being squished.

"Tired already?" The man who was sitting on Lucy got up. "We haven't even begun doing anything yet! Sit up!" He slapped Lucy from behind, causing her to let out a muffled cry. Tears went down her dirt streaked face. "Do you need me to spank your fat ass more? _Sit up!_"

As Lucy was slowly getting up, the man _tsked_ and grabbed hold on Lucy's blond hair. "Camera man, over here!"

The camera man moved in front of Lucy.

"These tits…" whispered the other man as he knelt down behind Lucy and look down from her shoulder. He let go of her hair and slowly moved both hands to the hem of her shirt.

Lucy sobbed.

"Let's get rid of this…" the man slowly pulled the shirt up until Lucy's white bra was exposed. Resting the fabric on top of her chest, the men laughed.

"This is awesome," said the camera man. "We could make a lot of money with this one!"

The man behind Lucy licked her neck. "You'll enjoy this…eventually," he whispered in her ear.

As the man was about to unclasp Lucy's bra, she brought her head forward and then back, hitting her attacker on the nose.

"_Gah!_" the man cried out.

Lucy started to stand on her feet.

"Reese!" The camera man was about to jump to his friend's rescue.

"No! Continue filming!" said Reese. He was holding his nose as blood poured out. "We're not fucking done yet!" He glared at Lucy's retreating figure. He jumped up and chased her down in no time at all.

Lucy was pinned to the floor, facing upwards as Reese straddled her. The blood from his nose dripped down and splattered all over Lucy's white skin and shirt.

"I'll finish what I was paid to do…" he growled, eyeing Lucy's covered breasts.

"_Like hell you will!_"

Lucy watched with wide eyes as Reese was kicked off her by Loke. The camera man dropped his phone and started backing away as Loke eyed him.

"_You assholes. I won't let you get away with this!"_ Loke grabbed the camera man, pinned him to a tree, and started to punch his face. The rings on his fingers left deep cuts on the man's cheek as it ripped the fabric of his mask.

Lucy was able to squirm her way out of her restraints, and then she ripped the tape off of her, ignoring the hot pain that came with it. From the corner of her eye Lucy noticed Reese getting up.

"Loke!" She exclaimed.

Loke released the camera man who fell to the ground and then went over to Reese.

Lucy noticed the intent to kill in Loke's eyes.

"Don't kill him, Loke!" Lucy shouted.

Loke stopped, which gave Reece enough time to run away. Loke was about to run after him when Lucy demanded him to stop.

"I can't just let him go!" Loke shouted. "He's getting away, Lucy!"

"Look at him!" Lucy yelled, pointing towards the camera man. He was unconscious, but he looked like he was dead with all the blood pouring out of his face. "You're already going to get in trouble for that! Let him go! The cops will quickly find him if we call them now!"

Loke growled and kicked a rock away from him. "Fine." He took out his phone and dialed the police. As they waited, Lucy found the chance to break down and cry.

She was violated. And if it wasn't for Loke, it would have went even further. Lucy hugged herself as she sobbed, and the memories of her abusive father flashed through her mind.

_They were about to do what dad does to Virgo_, she thought.

Loke looked down at her with saddened eyes. He knelt down and gathered the girl in his arms, and she gladly accepted him. She clutched his green shirt as her tears made water marks on it. Loke rubbed his hand on her back, whispering soothing words as he softly rocked Lucy back and forth.

_It's just like that one night, _Loke thought. He closed his eyes.

"_Do what you want with her," Karen said to a few gruff looking men. _

_Loke stared wide-eyed as these men took young Aries away. She looked at Loke with fear. The men dragged her out, and Loke was about to follow when Karen called him._

_Loke stood where he was with his hands clenched into tight fists, and continued to do so as Karen repeated his name._

_Finally fed up, Karen stomped over, grabbed Loke by his orange hair, and staring dragging him to her room. _

"_Looks like I still need to break you," she said with a smirk as she closed the door. "Don't worry about little Aries. Those men will take _good_ care of her, just like how I'll take good care of you. Now…off with your shirt."_

_Loke stood still as he glared up towards his mistress._

"_Loke! I said: _Take off your shirt! Now!_"_

_Young Loke went up to the fireplace and grabbed the poker. Karen froze._

"_Put that down…" she whispered. "You don't know what you're doing…"_

"You_ don't know what you're doing!" spat Loke. He swung at her head, and she was down instantly with blood pouring out of the wound._

_Loke dropped the poker and ran out the door. He quickly dialed the number to the police, hastily told them his location, and then ran out to the back where the shed was._

_But it wasn't for keeping the tools you would expect._

_Loke burst through the doors, causing the men to stop what they were doing. Aries was on the ground with her still developing chest exposed. One of the men were holding her legs up. Tears streamed down Aries's face._

"_Get the hell away from her," Loke growled. _

_One of the men laughed. "Go ahead and try to make us, little man. There's three of us and one of you."_

"_I wouldn't care if there were fifty of you. I will fight regardless."_

_The men stood up, ignoring the girl who backed into a corner. They advanced towards Loke._

"Hands above your heads! _Now!_" _Cried a woman from behind. Loke turned around to see four cops aiming their guns at the men. From the distance, Loke could see Karen being put into a police carriage._

_As the three men were led out of the shed, Loke ran in to get Aries. She was able to quickly put her shirt back on before sobbing. Loke held her close._

"_It's over now…" he whispered._

"Loke," sniffed Lucy. "They're here."

Loke helped Lucy stand as a few cops approached them. One woman and two males. The men went over to the camera man.

"I have men out looking for the other attacker right now," said the woman. She looked at Loke and smiled. "It's good to see you again. Not in this circumstance, though. I'm just glad you made it here on time."

"What the hell happened here?" questioned one of the policemen as he looked at the camera man.

"I got carried away," said Loke.

"I don't know how this will sit with the court, but…" started the woman. "My co-workers and I will stand up for you."

"What the hell…" said the other policeman as he bent down to pick up the smart phone.

_Reese said that he was paid,_ thought Lucy. She then recalled the warning Sophia gave her the other day, and the looks she gave before the race started.

"What the hell is going on here?" asked Makarov as he came into view. With him was the science teacher, Porlyusica, and Gildarts.

Porlyusica looked Lucy over. "She's fine. The blood on her isn't hers, but we should get her out of here and take her to the station."

The police woman nodded her head. "I'll call in to say that you guys are coming."

Lucy rode in a carriage with Loke and the teachers. Gildart's eyebrows were slanted in worry, but he didn't want to say anything in case he'd say the wrong thing.

"Do you know those men?" asked an interrogator.

"No," responded Lucy.

"Do you know people who would seek to hurt you?"

Lucy bit her lip. "No."

The interrogator tilted his head. "Tell me. I just want to help you, Lucy."

Lucy stayed quiet, trying to buy herself time.

There was a knock on the door and a man stepped through. "We've caught him," was all he said before leaving the room.

The interrogator led Lucy out into the hallway. In front of them were two men without masks. On the left, Lucy could easily recognize as the man holding the camera since his face was cut in different places. The other one made Lucy stepped back.

"Y-You!" she exclaimed. "The drunk!"

Reese smirked. "Yes, darling. I'm glad you've remembered after all this time."

"So you've met?" questioned the interrogator.

"I…bumped into him once," said Lucy softly.

"But why did he attack you?"

"Sir!" exclaimed Loke. There was a girl standing next to him, whom Lucy recognized as one of Sophia's posse members. "She has something important to say!"

The girl looked down in shame. When she looked back up she shouted, "He was hired by Sophia!"

_I knew it_, thought Lucy.

"Let's get her here, then," said the interrogator.

Lucy waited patiently outside with Loke. "What are they going to do about you?" she asked.

"They said that the council is going to take some time in deciding my punishment, but I know for a fact that Sophia will be expelled since they don't take stuff like this lightly. Something like that has severe consequences."

_Then why did she warn me?_ Thought Lucy.

A couple hours later, Sophia and the other girl's parents came to get them. They looked furious. They stopped in front of Lucy and bowed deeply, asking for forgiveness.

Before Sophia was gone from Lucy's life, her face twisted in guilt as she whispered, "I'm so sorry…"

When they were gone, Gildarts came out to see how the two teens were doing and was holding a black sweatshirt in his hands.

"As well as we can be," said Loke.

"Sophia's expelled. She confessed everything without hesitation, and we found out that her two little friends were in on it as well, but they are suspended."

"I thought as much."

Gildarts looked down at Lucy. "Hey…" he whispered, making her look up at him. "I don't know what kind of words to say to someone who just went through this kind of situation…but hang in there. You may have been here for only a short time, but you already have friends all around you who wouldn't hesitate to protect you. Plus, you're a strong woman who gave that son of a bitch a well-deserved broken nose. Oh, here's a sweatshirt by the way. With all the commotion, we forgot about…your shirt."

Lucy took the sweatshirt from him with a small smile. "Thank you, Mr. Clive."

After changing, Lucy got into a carriage and was taken home. She felt her pockets and sighed in relief. She still had her keys and cellphone, but the map was gone.

Once she stepped out of the carriage, she saw Natsu sitting on the steps, waiting.

_That's right…_ she thought. _He doesn't have a key…has he really been waiting all this time?_

Upon seeing Lucy, Natsu quickly stood up. Once the carriage rolled away, Natsu walked up and pulled Lucy into a hug.

"_I'm so sorry, Luce!" _he choked. "I was busy thinking about how much I wanted to win that I left you behind!"

"No, Natsu…" Lucy pulled away from him. "It's not your fault. Neither of us knew that this was going to happen. I wanted to stay behind."

"_I'm going to kill those bastards…_" his angry expression turned into worry when he looked into Lucy's brown eyes. "Did they…"

"No. Loke got there in time."

Natsu continued to examine her face. "Are you sure you're okay?"

_I'm not okay._

"I'm fine…Let's hurry inside before someone spots us. At least my key managed to stay in my pocket, or else we'd be locked out."

"There's no need. It's open already."

Lucy froze. "_You didn't lock the door?_"

"I did! I just managed to come in through my window."

Lucy sighed and headed inside. She started to head upstairs when Natsu said, "I'll make some dinner!"

In her room, Lucy locked the door, turned off the lights, and crawled into bed without taking her shoes off.

She sobbed into her pillow. She put on a straight face for everyone except for Loke, and she almost couldn't contain herself any longer.

Lucy thought of killing herself.

_My mom died, my dad's abusive and is raping a woman who I consider as another mother, I was kicked out, and people from school hired a drunk to rape me. Could my life get any more fantastic?_

Lucy's phone started vibrating in her pocket. It was from the mansion. Lucy pulled the covers over her head before picking up.

"Hello?"

"Lucy!" cried Virgo. "Thank goodness you're okay! I...I heard the news…"

"I'm fine Virgo, really."

"You don't sound fine to me."

Lucy gave up and cried out. "I was humiliated and was put on camera! I thought I was going to be raped!" Lucy kept crying as Virgo silently listened. She knew exactly how Lucy felt better than anyone.

"Virgo…" sniffed Lucy. "I don't want to live anymore…"

"No, Lucy. Please, please don't say that…"

"Is this how you feel?"

Virgo sighed heavily. "Every day."

"Virgo!" yelled Jude in the background. "That's enough! You've gone over the limit today!"

"But-" started the maid.

"Don't talk back at me! Her problems are not ours anymore! Hang up, or I will!"

Lucy bit her knuckled to keeps from screaming.

"Lucy, I have to go now," came Virgo hastily.

"I love-"

Virgo hung up and left Lucy with nothing to hear but the sound of nothing.

After an hour, Natsu called Lucy down to eat. She turned on the lights and looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't know who she was. She looked like a complete wreck. Lucy tried her best to look at least a bit presentable for Natsu's sake.

Lucy could smell the burnt food as she walked down the stairs.

_I should have known better after what I saw this morning._

Natsu set down a plate at the table and smiled. "I cooked spaghetti!"

The noodles looked over cooked beyond belief, and the cold sauce was splattered on top. The garlic bread that Natsu put on a separate plate was charred all around.

Lucy sighed.

"I'm a terrible cook, I know," said the pink-haired male. "But you can't hate it until you try it!"

"Natsu, I'm not eating that, and neither will you. I'll teach you how to make spaghetti if we even have any ingredients left."

Natsu looked over Lucy's shoulder as she poured the hard noodles into the boiling water.

"Hey," started Natsu as he watched Lucy heat up the tomato sauce. "I'm going to tell you something about me, okay?"

Lucy glanced at him before looking back and stirred the sauce.

"The reason why I wear this scarf all the time…I never knew my mother. I don't even know her name or what she looks like. My dad left her after discovering that she was pregnant, and then a year later, she died of a heart attack. I had no family to be passed on to, so I was adopted. My adoptive father loved me, and I loved him. I called him Igneel. When I was around five years old, a man broke into the house and came up to my room where I was sleeping soundly. The man took his knife and held it to my throat, waking me up. My dad came in with a gun and shot she intruder in the stomach, which caused him to deepen the cut on my throat. When my dad came to see if I was okay, the man pulled him down and stabbed him five times in the chest. I screamed. The police arrived, and the intruder was gone, leaving me with my dad's corpse."

"Wh-what happened to the attacker? Did the police catch him?"

"No. And I never got a good look at his face. That man is still out there…"

Lucy's brow's knitted together in concern as she looked at Natsu's white scarf. "May I?" she asked.

Natsu nodded his head and pulled his scarf down. Lucy could see the pale mark that has stretched throughout the years, but it was still noticeable.

"The food," said Natsu.

Lucy blinked a couple times before focusing back on her task. When she was done cooking and the bad food was thrown up, Lucy set the table.

"This is amazing!" exclaimed Natsu, sitting down.

Lucy took a seat across from him. "It's just spaghetti. Plus you work at an Italian restaurant."

"I know, but…I haven't had a good home-cooked meal in years. Thank you."

Lucy watched as Natsu gobbled down the food. She focused in on the scarf and said, "Now that you've shown me, you don't need to wear the scarf all the time when you're here. I'm sure it gets really hot.

Natsu smiled. His face was smeared with tomato sauce. "Thank you, Luce. Aren't you going to eat?"

Lucy looked down at her food and realized she didn't have an appetite the entire time she was home. She shook her head.

_He told me that story…_ Lucy thought. _He went through something traumatic, and here he is, smearing his face with sauce with that goofy smile of his. I don't understand…_

"Natsu, I…" Lucy started. "I want to tell you something about me as well."

Natsu wiped some sauce off of his face with a paper towel and said, "You don't have to, Luce. It's alright. Just go at your own pace."

"But I want to." Lucy breathed in, not sure if she could tell him the whole entire story. "You see that picture over there?" She pointed to the one with her and Virgo in it.

Natsu looked at it and then looked back at Lucy. "Yeah…is she…your mom?"

"Sort of…my mom also passed when I was young. Car crash. Everything…_changed_ after that. Virgo, the maid, took care of me like I was her own daughter. My dad…My dad…" A tear rolled down Lucy's cheek.

"Don't force yourself, Luce. It's alright. Thank you for telling me at least this much." Natsu smiled as he stared at his companion's face. "You know…since I've known you, I've been trying to get you to smile. You smile for everyone else…"

"What do you mean?"

Natsu shook his head. "It's nothing. I'll clean up, okay? You take a bath and get to bed."

Lucy got up with Natsu. As they walked past each other, Lucy stopped and turned around. "Ne…Natsu?"

Natsu faced her. "Yeah?"

The corners of Lucy's mouth pulled into a genuine smile. "Thank you for listening."

* * *

**That...was A LOT longer than I though it would be O.O **

**Anyways...**

**Holy hell so many followers :O Awesome! I'm so glad lots of you are into this story! **

**Fav...Follow...Reviews are nice too :D**

**~Bl00dyshad0w**


	12. Let Me Take Care of You

_Recap:_

_Lucy got up with Natsu. As they walked past each other, Lucy stopped and turned around. "Ne…Natsu?"_

_Natsu faced her. "Yeah?"_

_The corners of Lucy's mouth pulled into a genuine smile. "Thank you for listening."_

* * *

A couple weeks have passed.

At school, the news of the events at the race grew like wildfire and even appeared on television, though Lucy's name was disclosed. Her friends didn't bring it up, and Lucy was thankful for that.

Natsu tried his best to be discreet about where he lived, but Gray was slowly catching on. The excuse that Natsu came up with was that he was busy with work, but when Gray came to see him one day, Bisca said that he hasn't been scheduled to work for a while.

During a weekend evening, Lucy stared out her bedroom window. She watched as the rain poured down from the darkened clouds.

There was a loud knock on her door.

"Luce?" questioned Natsu. "Is Happy in your room by any chance?"

Lucy got out of her bed and quickly pulled her white sweater over her dark tank top. She opened the door and was taken aback by Natsu's panicked face. "No…what's wrong?"

"Damn it!" Natsu cursed. "I can't find him anywhere!"

"Calm down," said Lucy as she stepped out. "I'm sure he's here somewhere. Maybe he's sleeping behind the toilet again."

"I've checked there. Twice."

"Where else could he go?"

"I don't know…can you help me find him?"

Lucy helped Natsu search downstairs. She checked underneath the couch, behind the television, and under the sink. When she straightened herself and sighed, she realized that there was a cool breeze in the room. In front of her, the kitchen window was opened a bit.

"Oh no…" she whispered as she looked out the window. She closed it and then went to go find Natsu.

"Did you find something?" Natsu asked as he finished checking behind the curtains.

"I don't think Happy is in the house anymore. The kitchen window was open."

"Dammit!"

Natsu ran to the front door, slipped on a jacket and a pair of sneakers, and then ran out.

"Wait!" Lucy cried. "It's pouring out there!"

Natsu didn't listen and kept going, leaving the front door open. Lucy grunted. "That idiot!" she cried before following after him. She got on her shoes and grabbed a red umbrella before running out, shutting the door behind her. "Wait up!" she called. The wind picked up, and Lucy's umbrella was forced out of her hand. In a second, she was soaked. She chased her umbrella to the edge of the canal, and was able to grab it before it landed in the water.

When she straightened herself, she considered going back home.

_Natsu will probably find him,_ Lucy thought. She looked back and forth between her house and the area where Natsu ran off. Grunting, she went to go find her pink-haired friend.

"Where did he go?" she asked herself as she tried to see past the haze. She went forward, hoping to catch sight of him and his white scarf.

_It's getting kind of cold_, Lucy thought as she rounded another corner. _Maybe I should go home. Natsu has probably already found Happy and is worried about me._

Lucy turned around. _Wait…Where am I? Dammit, I forgot my phone! _ Lucy grunted and made her way underneath a solid platform where she leaned against the brick wall.

"_Meow!_"

Lucy shook her head. "I'm already hearing things."

"_Meow!_"

Lucy walked over to a dumpster where she thought she heard the sound. She waited for another meow, but none came. She went around the dumpster and jumped back.

"H-Happy?" Lucy cried.

The blue cat was cuddling with a white cat, and the two were wet and shivering. They stared at Lucy.

"Happy!" came Natsu's voice from a distance.

Lucy straightened up and called, "Natsu! I found him!"

"Lucy?"

After a few moments of searching, Natsu found Lucy and jogged up to her. His usually spiky hair now stuck to his face. "Where?" he asked. "Where's Happy?"

Lucy pointed towards the two cats.

Natsu blinked. "Oh…Is this your girlfriend?"

Happy meowed.

"Natsu," started Lucy. "They're freezing. We have to get them out of here."

"But what about the other cat?"

"Carla! _Carla!_" came the voice of a young girl. She spotted Natsu and Lucy and stopped.

"What is it, Wendy?" A boy around Wendy's age appeared with a white umbrella. He turned his head in the girl's direction.

"U-Um," started Lucy. "Is this your cat?" Lucy gestured towards the two cats, and Wendy's eyes lit up.

"Carla!" she exclaimed as she rushed over. "You're okay! I was so worried!"

"You two shouldn't be out here by yourselves," started Natsu. "Especially while it's raining!"

"And what's your excuse?" questioned the boy who crossed his arms.

"And what's your name?"

"Romeo."

"Romeo? As in Macao's son?"

"This is no time for talking!" said Lucy. "These cats need to get indoors!"

"She's right," said Wendy. She knelt down in front of her cat and said, "It's time to go, Carla. You can see your friend some other time."

Carla got up and climbed into Wendy's arms. The young girl stood up and turned to Natsu and Lucy. "Thank you so much for finding her," she said with a smile before walking off with Romeo.

"Come on, Happy," said Natsu. The blue cat jumped on his owner's shoulder.

"H-H-Here," Lucy said, holding the red umbrella towards Natsu.

He looked at her worriedly. "Lucy, you're cold!"

"I'll be fine. We just need to get Happy home."

Natsu handed Lucy his cat and said, "You keep the umbrella. I'll be fine. I'd give you my jacket, but it's wet."

"Natsu…"

"Come on, what are we waiting for?"

The two walked side by side as Happy pressed himself against Lucy's neck, seeking warmth. When Lucy glanced over at Natsu, she felt guilty that she was hogging the umbrella, and slowly inched closer to her companion.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Lucy blushed. "I-I don't want you to get pelted with rain the whole entire way home! Just…get the hell over here."

Natsu smiled and stepped to the side until their shoulders were touching.

They walked home together underneath the protection of the red umbrella.

The next morning, Lucy got up early to make breakfast before her and Natsu went to school. She cooked up two omelets and then called Natsu down.

As Lucy waited at the table, she realized that something was wrong. Natsu would usually already be downstairs once he smelled food. Lucy climbed up the stairs and walked to Natsu's bedroom door. She knocked twice.

"Natsu?" she called. "You there?"

"Y-Yeah…Sorry, I'm not going to have breakfast today. I'll see you at school later."

Lucy's eyebrows knitted together. "Natsu, what's wrong? You sound funny…"

"It's nothing. I don't want you to be late, so you should probably hurry before Gildarts gets mad."

"I'm coming in."

"No, don't-"

Lucy entered the room and looked around. Clothes scattered the floor, causing Lucy to sigh. When she looked over at the bed, she saw Natsu sitting up and looking at her. He looked pale and sickly.

"You're sick?" questioned Lucy as she stepped forward.

"Stop right there!" Exclaimed Natsu as he held his hand out. "I don't want you to catch my cold!" He coughed hoarsely and then fell back on his bed. "My head is killing me," he mumbled.

"Hold on, I'll go get some warm water."

"What about school?"

Lucy looked at him from the doorway. "I'll just skip today. Don't worry about it."

"But don't you think our classmates will think something's up?"

"They'll probably think that it's a coincidence! I mean, they haven't caught us yet."

Natsu was about to object some more but was silenced when Lucy shut his door. Downstairs, Lucy fed Happy and then grabbed a bowl to fill with warm water.

"It's because he ran out like that last night," she mumbled as she turned the water off. The steam warmed her face and she grabbed a rag to put on Natsu's forehead. Lucy blushed and thought, _It's like we're a couple…_

Lucy looked down when she noticed Happy staring at her, and she could have sworn he looked smug.

Lucy went upstairs with the bowl in her hands and the rag draped over her shoulder. She carefully opened Natsu's door and stepped inside. She set the bowl down and dipped the rag into the warm water, rung it, and then placed it on Natsu's head.

Natsu grinned.

"What?" questioned Lucy as she tilted her head.

"This is the first time that someone has taken care of me while I was sick."

Lucy quickly turned away before Natsu could see how red she's become. "I-I'll go get you some water to drink, okay? Just rest. I'll check up on you soon." She got up and quickly went back to the kitchen.

"This is insane," thought Lucy out loud as she poured water into a jug. She brought it up with a small glass and saw that Natsu was asleep.

After school, Levy grabbed Lucy's homework and called her but she didn't answer. "I have no idea where she lives," she said to Gajeel with a pout.

"What if you follow the path that she comes to school on?"

"Oh! Good idea! I'll see you after work, okay?"

Gajeel waved his hand before walking away. Levy followed the path, determined to find where her friend lived.

"Wait," she started as she stared at a bench. "This is where I saw Lucy and Lyon that one time…she _must_ live here somewhere!"

"Excuse me?" asked an old woman standing behind Levy.

Levy turned around and looked down. "Yes?"

"Are you looking for the young boy with the pink hair and the white scarf?

Levy paused. "You mean…Natsu? What is he doing here?"

"Are you here to give him his work? I didn't see him leave his house so I assumed he would be absent. He reminds me of my first husband…But anyways, shall I point the way?"

Levy laughed nervously. "B-But Natsu lives at the student apartments…"

"What? I've seen him coming and going from his house for the past few weeks."

"Which house are you talking about?"

Levy followed the old woman to a large home, and Levy looked up and laughed. "Natsu couldn't possibly be living here! I mean, he lives at the student apartments with Gray and Gajeel!"

"Wouldn't hurt to ring the doorbell."

The old woman left Levy standing at the front of the house. The blue-hair girl hesitantly raised her hand up and rang the doorbell.

After a few moments, Levy was about to turn around when the door swung open. "Yes?"

The two stared at each other wide-eyes.

"_Lucy?_" exclaimed Levy. "Th-This is _your_ house?"

"Yeah…um, how did you find me?"

"There was an old woman who told me that Natsu lives here…"

There was a long silence between them as Levy processed what was going on. Her jaw dropped. "Wait a minute. Is Natsu living _here_?"

"U-Um-"

"What happened? Why is Natsu not at the apartments?"

Lucy sighed, giving up. She made room for Levy to come in and closed the door behind her.

"He got kicked out some weeks ago."

"Did the landlady find Happy?"

"Yeah, and he had nowhere else to stay."

"So why were _both _of you absent today?"

"Natsu caught a cold and I'm taking care of him."

"I'll help! If…that's okay."

"Yeah that's fine, I guess. Is that my homework?"

Levy set the papers on top of the coffee table when the two entered the living room. She gasped. "Gray was sent to bring Natsu's paperwork! He's going to find out as well!"

"Well…we saw this coming. We knew that it was only a matter of time."

Levy smirked. "What have you guys been up to? It's a big house with no adults around…"

"Levy!" Lucy playfully slapped her friend's arm as Happy came into view. Levy bent down to pet the blue cat. "I'll show you to Natsu's room," said Lucy as she led Levy upstairs.

"Come in," said Natsu once he heard the two knocks on his door. He woke up after hearing the sound of the doorbell.

"Natsu-" started Lucy as she came in.

"Who was at the door?"

"Me!"

Natsu's head snapped towards the door-frame where he saw Levy. He groaned in pain and mumbled, "I moved my head too fast."

Back at the student apartments, Gray knocked on Natsu's door. "Oi, flame-brain! I got your homework! I know you're not at work, so open up!"

The lock clicked and the door swung open. In front of Gray was a large man wearing a yellow construction hat.

"U-Um…Is Natsu there?" questioned Gray.

The large man scratched his large stomach as he said, "That pink headed kid? He was kicked out of here weeks ago and left us a mess to clean up. I don't know where he is now, so don't ask." The man shut the door and re-locked it.

"Kicked out?" repeated Gray.

Gray walked away from the building and paced back and forth. Through his mind came and went the possible people that Natsu could be staying with. "Where the hell is that idiot?"

"Hey, Gray?"

Gray looked up and greeted Lisanna. She smiled and asked, "Have you seen Natsu? He told me that he would help me practice basketball today."

"Actually, I have no idea where he is."

"He's not at the apartments?"

"No…and he hasn't been there for weeks, which explains a lot."

Lisanna's brows knitted together in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm guessing the landlady found out about Happy and kicked him out and he has kept that a secret from everyone."

As the two continued talking, Makarov stayed behind a large oak tree and listened in.

"Oh, shit!" said Natsu after looking at the time. "I need to get to work!" He was about to get up when Levy pushed him back down.

"Oh no you don't!" she said. "You're not going to be serving food with a runny nose! You're staying in bed!"

"Bisca might fire me if I don't show up!"

"In that case, I'll take your shift!" exclaimed Lucy.

Levy and Natsu looked at her. "What?" they both said.

"Well…I know I don't work there, but if I explain the situation to her, she might let me."

"You don't need to do that, Luce," started Natsu. "You've helped me so much already."

"You can't stop me. Besides, I want to try it out."

Natsu sighed. "Levy, how long are you staying?"

Levy looked at her watch. "Until curfew, which means I'll probably leave before Lucy comes back."

"That's fine," said Lucy as she started walking off. "But you owe me big time, Natsu!"

"You want to _what_?" questioned Katelyn. "I don't think the boss would allow that!"

"Well I could at least try!" responded Lucy.

Bisca walked up once she saw Lucy. She smiled and said, "I remember you! You're Natsu's friend! And speaking of Natsu, where the hell is he? His shift is about to start, and I won't be happy if he's late again."

"About that…Natsu is really sick, and I told him I would try to take his shift. If that's okay with you, I mean."

Bisca looked Lucy up and down before responding, "Alright. Katelyn? Please get Lucy a uniform."

"Y-Yes, mam. Right away…" The waitress showed Lucy to the back where the shirts were. "Lucky for you, you're wearing black pants, but you're not wearing the proper shoes. Try not to slip. Have you ever done this before?"

"No, but I'd imagine it has to do with a lot of short hand."

"Just make sure the cook understands what you put down. You'll catch on fast. Besides, tonight isn't busy so I think you'll be fine."

Lucy nodded her head and quickly changed into the restaurant's maroon colored shirt. When she stepped out, Bisca came up to her and pointed to a table. "You can take that one," she said.

Lucy approached the two people sitting at the table and was about to ask if they wanted anything to drink when she lost her words.

Lyon and Sherry looked back at her.

"Lucy?" questioned Sherry. "I didn't know you worked here."

"I-I'm taking over a shift for my friend who's sick. Are you two…on a date?"

Sherry looked at Lyon and the two smiled at each other, but Lucy could tell that Lyon wasn't as happy with the way his eyes didn't wrinkle. "We're dating," said the pink-haired woman. "Finally."

The two had their orders taken, and stayed one of the only ones in the restaurant. Lucy would glance at them from time to time.

"What's up?" asked Katelyn who was carrying a pitcher of water.

"It's nothing. I'm just…concerned for a friend."

Bisca invited Lucy to eat with her and her family, but Lucy refused, saying that she needed to get home. The manager smiled and brought food in a container for Lucy to take home. "You didn't have a lot of customers," she started, "but you did an excellent job today. Thank you. Natsu totally owes you."

Lucy nodded her head and went back home. Upon entering, she found Natsu waiting for her in the living room.

"What the hell are you doing out of bed?" she exclaimed as she set the food down.

"I was waiting."

"_Why?_"

"I wanted to be sure that you got home safely…"

Lucy's eyes softened. She told Natsu how work was and then ushered him to bed where he immediately fell asleep.

"You must have been fighting to stay awake," whispered Lucy as she stared down at Natsu's sleeping face. Happy jumped on his bed and curled into a ball. Lucy tucked her blonde hair behind her ear before bending down to kiss Natsu's cheek.

"Good night," she said with a smile.

* * *

**Yup. It's time for me to go to bed too *Dies on keyboard***


	13. Jealousy Stirs

***Rise from the grave***

**I'm back! Please don't kill me! I didn't expect school to actually become challenging, and I also visited my friends in Utah for ten days! I thought I would have been able to finish this chapter at that time...but no D:**

* * *

_Recap:_

_"You must have been fighting to stay awake," whispered Lucy as she stared down at Natsu's sleeping face. Happy jumped on his bed and curled into a ball. Lucy tucked her blonde hair behind her ear before bending down to kiss Natsu's cheek._

_"Good night," she said with a smile._

* * *

A day later, Natsu jumped out of bed in the morning with a smile on his face. "I feel so much better!" he exclaimed. He threw on his uniform and headed downstairs to eat breakfast with Lucy. "Great news, Luce! I'll be going to school toda-" He froze when he noticed that the kitchen was unoccupied, and the aroma of food was non-existent. "Luce?" called Natsu. He check inside a pot and called her again.

He went upstairs assuming she just forgot to cook food. When he stopped at her door, he knocked on it and asked if she was getting ready. He knocked again, but she still didn't answer. "I'm coming in!" he announced. He tried to turn the knob but it was locked.

Natsu went outside and around the house, scaled up the wall, and reached Lucy's window. He slid it open, silently thanking Lucy for not locking it, and jumped on the bed.

"_Ah!_" cried Lucy. She fell off her white sheet and brought her pillow along with her. When she sat up and saw Natsu kneeling on her bed, she grunted. "_What the fuck are you doing?_" she growled as she slowly got up, using her bed for support.

"I got worried when you wouldn't answer! You forgot about breakfast, so I came to remind you. Hey, you don't look so good…Is this how you look like every morning?"

"Can you please get off my bed?"

Natsu shuffled off and dropped to the floor.

Lucy coughed as she returned to the comfort of her sheets. "I caught your damn sickness, Natsu. I'm not going to school."

Natsu's eyes lit up. "This is the perfect opportunity for me to return the favor!"

"That's okay, Natsu. You should go to school. Your grades aren't the best…"

"I don't care about that right now. So…I'll try to take care of you like you took care of me yesterday, okay?"

"Fine."

Natsu hummed as he made his way downstairs to get some water. He fed Happy first before letting scalding hot water run into the bowl. He grabbed a rag and went back upstairs. "I got the water!" he exclaimed as he soaked the rag and brought it to Lucy's face without twisting the fabric first.

Lucy cried out. "It's hot! _It's hot!_"

"What are you talking about?"

Lucy threw the rag off of her face and touched her red wet skin. "_Natsu…_" she whined. "Can't you tell the difference between warm and fire breathing hot?"

"No."

"I think you should probably go to school." Said Lucy as she turned away from Natsu, wiping the water off of her face with the end of her pajama shirt,

"Not a chance!"

The bell signaling that school was over rang, and Levy started to merrily skip towards Lucy's house. _I'll buy her some sweets on the way!_ She thought with a smile.

Gray grabbed her arm, releasing her from her day dream. "Levy, I've been asking everyone this today, but do you know where Natsu lives?"

Levy froze. _Oh no,_ she thought. _Should I say yes? Should I say no? _I don't know what to do!

"Well?" pushed Gray. "Do you know?"

"N-N-Not at all! Sorry!" Levy was about to continue on her way when Gray held her arm tighter.

"I don't believe that."

"_Ouch!_ What do you care, anyways?"

"He's my friend and I'm concerned! Where are _you_ heading anyways? Your place is the other way and Gajeel isn't with you."

"Oh, I'm going to Natsu's house!"

A wave of silence passed between them until Levy finally realized what she said. "I-I-I-I mean Lucy's house! That's what I meant!"

"But you said it was Natsu's house first."

"Did I?" Levy giggled nervously. "We were talking about Natsu so I accidentally let it slip!"

Gray eyed her suspiciously. "Then…you wouldn't mind me following you? I'd like to check up on Lucy since she didn't come to school yesterday as well."

"I don't think she would like that…"

"Wait…Natsu and Lucy weren't here yesterday, and now they're absent today…Are they-"

Levy's eyes widened.

Gray continued. "Were they _skipping together?_ Without _me?_"

Levy sighed in relief. "Yeah, that's what they're doing!"

Gray smirked. "But you said that you were going to go see Lucy, so you must know where those two are."

Levy's lip started to quiver. She couldn't hold it in anymore. "Natsu was kicked out of the student apartments and has been living with Lucy for a while now!"

Gray stared at her blankly. Levy looked at him worriedly and asked, "Gray? You okay?"

Gray laughed. "No he's not!"

"I was just there yesterday!"

All humor in Gray's face vanished. "You're certain?" he whispered. "Why didn't he tell us? Why is he living with Lucy?"

"Well, I guess Lucy saved him. He couldn't bunk with anyone else because most of his friends are in the student apartments, so I think it was either Lucy or the streets. Knowing how sweet Lucy is, she sure wouldn't let that happen."

Gray sighed. "Alright then, let's go. I need to see this for myself."

"Natsu, I'm fine. Please go away." Lucy kept her back turned from Natsu who was sitting crossed legged on the floor.

"The moment I leave, something terrible is going to happen. Like…A meteor will fall out of the sky and hit your house."

Happy jumped on the bed and curled himself underneath Lucy's chin. She sighed heavily. "Natsu, the chances of that happening…"

"What do you want to eat for dinner? Do you want me to make you some soup? Salad?"

"I'd rather not have you in the kitchen unsupervised."

"Then I'll call someplace. I'll be right back!"

Natsu ran downstairs to retrieve his phone that he left on the dining table. As he started to search for restaurants that could deliver, the doorbell rang.

"Wow," mumbled Natsu as he set his phone back down. "That was fast. I didn't even call them." He quickly walked to the door and opened it, only to quickly close it in Gray's face.

"Don't shut the door on me, flame-brain!" yelled Gray as he moved his foot out in front of him to stop the door from closing all the way. He slammed his body onto the surface and started pushing Natsu back. "Let us in!"

"You must have the wrong house. Bye!" Called Natsu in an attempt to sound like a girl.

"I know it's you, Natsu!" Yelled Gray. "Open up the fucking door! You've got explaining to do!"

"Please, Natsu," said Levy. "Let's not break the door."

Natsu quickly jumped back, causing Gray to fall in face first. A fight was about to break out when Levy intervened.

"Natsu, you look okay! Why didn't you or Lucy come to school today?"

"Lucy caught my cold and she's in bed right now. I was just about to call for some food."

"Don't you work today?" asked Gray, getting up.

"Yeah…Bisca will probably fire me if I don't show up later, but I can't just leave Lucy."

Levy slapped the back of Natsu's head and said, "I can't believe you let her catch your cold!"

"We'll take care of her," said Gray with a shrug. "If that's okay with Lucy."

"Actually…" started Levy. "I've got work at the library pretty soon, but I can come back later. Have you as a caretaker, Natsu, is probably not the safest thing."

"Then I guess I will take care of her on my own," said the raven haired male with a shrug. "Where is her room? I'll go talk to her."

"No," said Natsu sternly. He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "I won't allow it."

"I wasn't going to ask for _your_ permission. I was going to ask hers. Plus, I'm doing you a huge solid. You need to get to work, and I want to help Lucy. You're not the only one who is worried about her."

"Natsu…" Levy whispered. "Let him go."

Growling, the pink haired boy turned towards the stairs and said, "It's this way." He led the two up into Lucy's room where she was sitting up and reading a book.

"Who was it?" she asked, not taking her eyes off of the text in front of her.

"Lucy," started Gray.

The blonde looked over, surprised. "Gray? What are you…"

"Natsu has to go to work soon, and if he doesn't, then he'll most likely be fired. Levy also has to go to work, so I'll stay here and take care of you. But only if that's fine with you."

Lucy sighed. "Look guys, it's just a cold. I really don't need this royal treatment-"

"But you deserve royal treatment!" exclaimed Levy as she walked in and sat on Lucy's bed. "You're sick. You should have someone here to help you get better."

_It's true that I've never been alone while I was sick, _thought Lucy. _Virgo always took care of me. Gray's not a bad guy either…_

"Will you be alright with me staying here?" asked Gray.

"Yeah, sure," responded Lucy as she picked her book up again.

Natsu grabbed Gray's wrist and dragged him out the door. He pinned him against the wall and said, "If you treat her badly, I swear-"

Gray pushed him off and whispered harshly, "You think I'm that kind of guy? If you really think that way, then you don't know me at all. Now go to work."

Natsu flared his nose toward Gray before leaving to his room.

As Gray was about to re-enter Lucy's room, Levy came out.

"I have to go now," she said as she rested her hand on his shoulder. "I'll be back soon. Take good care of her, okay?"

Gray nodded and approached Lucy. "I'm sure by now you've figured out that Natsu can't cook shit, but lucky for you I am a decent chef. So, mademoiselle, what would you like for dinner?"

Lucy looked up and smiled. "You can cook?"

Gray blushed and looked away for a moment. "Yeah, what do you want?"

"Surprise me and use anything you can find in the kitchen. You'll be serving a master chef, so I won't judge you lightly."

Gray headed downstairs to get started on cooking. As he was looking through the cabinets, Natsu came down in his work clothes.

The two eyed each other for a moment before Natsu disappeared.

As Lucy was finishing up her novel, Gray knocked on her open door. He balanced a tray of food in one hand. He flashed a smile and said, "Dinner is served."

Lucy tried to inhale deeply to take in the scent of the soup, but her clogged nose made it almost impossible. She coughed loudly and lightly tossed her book to the foot of her bed. "What did you make?"

Gray set the tray in front of his patient and said, "Classic chicken noodle soup, grapefruit, and ginger tea with honey. You're going to get better in no time. With Natsu taking care of you, who knows how long that would take."

Lucy smiled. "Thanks, Gray."

"Natsu? _Natsu! Snap the fuck out of it!_" Bisca slapped Natsu over the head.

Natsu was staring blankly into space as he wiped down the empty tables. The moment Bisca's hand met the back of his head, he let out a yelp of surprise. "Hey! What was that for?"

"I've known that you're an airhead, but this is just ridiculous. Tell me what's going on."

"I-It's nothing. I swear, I was just thinking about food."

"Is it a girl?"

"N-No! Let we do my work, hag!"

"_Excuse _me? I am your boss!"

Alzak hurried over with his daughter Asuka following closely behind him. "What's going on?" he asked worriedly.

Bisca grunted as she crossed her arms over her chest. "It's a good thing I've known you for a long time, Natsu. I would have fired you a long time ago for your smart mouth."

"I'm sorry," said Natsu finally as he tossed his rag on the table and faced the restaurant owners. "I'm just really stressed. I was taking care of a sick friend at home but I had to come here and leave them with someone else. I'm just worried about her."

"Lucy?" piped Asuka.

"Yeah," said Natsu with a smile as he patted the young girl's head.

"Lucy's sick?" questioned Bisca. "You mean to tell me that she was taking care of you the other day and caught your cold? You stupid idiot. Alright, since it's Lucy, I'll let you leave early. Just wait while I get some food together that you can give her, okay?"

"O-Okay."

Once Bisca left, Alzak smiled and said, "I hope Lucy's fine. Bisca really likes her, and if she wants a job here, we'll give it to her. She did a fantastic job when she took your place."

Asuka dug into her pockets and pulled out a small candy wrapped in white foil. She held it out for Natsu to take and said, "Please give it to Lucy and tell her to be better!"

After Gray finished washing the dishes, he went upstairs to talk to Lucy. When he arrived at her room, she was already asleep, and the book that she finished reading fell on the floor. Gray picked it up and gently placed it on the night stand.

Lucy mumbled something in her sleep and turned so she was facing her caretaker. Gray moved some of Lucy's hair away from her face and smiled.

"You're really cute," he whispered. He bent down and kissed her forehead, and then left her room with his heart pounding.

Natsu unlocked the door and quickly entered the room. He was about to storm upstairs when he saw Gray sitting on the couch and flipping through the channels. Natsu placed the container of food on the table and moved over to the couch.

"How is she?" he asked.

Gray turned the television off and said, "She's resting. Since you're here, I'll be heading out now."

He got up and was about to leave when Natsu put a hand to his chest to stop him. "Wait," said Natsu, looking down. "Thank you. I'm sure you took better care of her than I did."

"Damn right I did."

Gray opened the door and was face-to-face with Levy in mid-knock. She blinked twice before the giggled awkwardly.

"I'm back!" she said.

"I'm leaving. See you tomorrow at school."

Natsu went upstairs with Levy to check up on Lucy. As Gray said, she was sleeping soundly.

"What should I make her for dinner?" Levy whispered.

"I brought some food from work," replied Natsu. He took the candy that Asuka gave him and placed it on top of Lucy's book that was placed on top of the night stand.

"I told my parents that I would be staying the night. I brought my clothes and stuff." Levy left the room and entered the guest room to leave her stuff.

Natsu gazed compassionately at Lucy's sleeping face, but quickly shook his head and disappeared when he heard the doorbell ring.

"If it's that Gray again…" muttered Natsu as he stomped down the stairs.

With force, the scarfed boy swung the door open with a scowl on his face. Lisanna jumped back, surprised.

"N-Natsu?" she questioned in a high-pitched voice.

Natu stared at her with wide eyes for a few moments before he looked around outside to see if there was anyone else with her. "How did you know I was here?"

"I heard that you were kicked out of the student apartments, and I was getting really worried when you weren't showing up to school. I followed Levy and I saw Gray come out not so long ago."

"How many more people know that I was kicked out?"

"Well…people were beginning to wonder why it was so quiet, and why nothing has been wrecked recently. Then many people started noticing that you haven't been around, so we assumed it's because you were working more. I'm sure that there have been a lot of people who already know that you are kicked out, but they don't know where you currently live."

Lisanna looked up at the house. "You live…here? How were you able to afford this?"

"Yeah. My…um… distant cousin lets me stay here for free. I try to pay for rent, but she refuses. She caught my cold so I've been taking care of her, so that's why I haven't been in class recently."

"Oh! Do you need any help?"

Lisanna was about to come in when Natsu moved in her way. "N-No! I've got it! Thanks, though. I'll see you at school tomorrow, okay?"

Lisanna's eyebrows knitted together. "O-Okay…bye, Natsu."

The following day, Levy got up early to make breakfast for everyone. She fed Happy and then placed two plates on omelet on the table, and then put the other plate on a tray to take to Lucy.

"Are you feeling well enough to go to school?" asked Levy as she placed the tray on Lucy's lap.

"I think I'll rest for one more day. I'm well enough that I don't need a whole lot of care, so you and Natsu don't need to worry. All I have is a headache and my nose is a little stuffy still."

"Alright, but I'm coming the moment school lets us out!"

Lucy smiled. "I'll be looking forward to it."

Natsu slid into the room, panicked. "How is she? Is she okay? _Is she still alive?_"

Lucy sighed. "Natsu, I have a cold. Not a terminal illness. You don't need to worry about me when you're in school."

Natsu crossed his arms. "I won't go to school with you still sick! I gave you my word!"

"Natsu!" scolded Levy. "Your grades are plummeting! Think of it this way…the school will contact the student dorms to find out what's up. The office will inform them that you were kicked out. The school will find out where you are, and how happy do you think they will be when they find out that you have been living one girl and no adults without permission?"

Natsu nodded his head. "You make a fair point."

"Go to school, you two," said Lucy as she picked up her fork. "I'll be fine. Happy will still be here to watch over me."

Lunch time came around. Erza slammed her palms onto Natsu's desk and glared at him. His face went pale when he saw a dark aura floating around her.

"Where have you been?" asked the scarlet haired woman as she eyed her prey.

"I-I've been sick!"

"You know what I mean. Word is spreading that you were kicked out. And not just recently, but weeks ago. Care to explain?"

"Has Makarov heard about it yet?"

"There is a good chance."

Natsu sighed. "Don't tell anyone, but I've been staying with Lucy."

"_What?_"

Natsu held his hands up. "Before you jump to any conclusions, she saved me from living on the streets. We're just roommates, and nothing has happened."

"So where is she?"

Natsu scratched his head. "She…well….caught my cold."

Levy and Gajeel came over with some food as Erza slapped Natu's head. "She caught _your _cold?"

Levy sighed. "I'm assuming he told you?"

Gajeel looked at Levy with a confused expression. "Told her what?"

"She's student council president," replied Natsu. "She was going to find out sooner or later."

"Find out what?" asked Gajeel.

Erza nodded her head. "I've made up my mind. I'm visiting Lucy after school today."

"What is going on?" continued Gajeel, noticeably irritated.

Levy sighed and patted Gajeel's muscular arm. "I'll tell you later, but for now, just forget about it."

Lucy's eyes fluttered open. She looked over at the time and saw that she slept past the time that school was let out. She stood up to get changed, but she immediately fell back down on her bed. Happy looked at her worriedly as Lucy broke out into a coughing fit. She could hear the pounding in her ears. She lifted her hand to her forehead to feel her temperature.

"I don't understand," she whispered. "I was fine before…" Lucy took the glass of water the was sitting on the night stand and took two big gulps before laying back down.

Natsu unlocked the door to the house and stepped in with Levy, Gajeel, Gray, and Erza behind him.

"Don't you think that it will be way to crowded?" asked Natsu as he eyed Gray.

"You said she was feeling better," said Gray, ignoring the look that he was receiving. "So I don't see this being a problem."

They all went upstairs to greet Lucy and saw her still and bed. Levy automatically knew that something was wrong and quickly went to her side. She placed her hand on Lucy's forehead and said, "That's so weird…she was fine earlier…"

"I'll go get some cold water!" announced Erza as she dashed downstairs. The noise of her going through the cabinet could be heard all the way back to the bedroom.

"She's sweating!" said Gajeel. "We need to get her out of her clothes or something!" The large man went over to the sick girl and was about to undress her when both Natsu and Gray pushed him away.

"Like hell you're going to do that!" yelled Levy. "Find me a pain reliever. She's having a really bad headache."

The boys scrambled into the bathroom and began to destroy the place looking for a pill.

Erza came back with a bowl full of cold water and tossed it onto Lucy.

"Erza!" cried Levy, backing away from the wet bed. "_What are you doing?_"

"Her body needed to cool down!"

Lucy passed out.

The boys scrambled back into the room with a bottle of pain killers in Natsu's hand. Levy shooed everyone out so that she could properly take care of her sick friend. Gray, Erza, and Gajeel left the house with many apologies, and Natsu stayed waiting on the couch. Once Levy came down the stairs, he quickly got up to receive a report.

"She'll be fine," said Levy. "I changed her bed and clothes, so all she needs now is more rest. She must have been needing a lot of that for quite some time."

Natsu nodded his head and went upstairs as Levy exited through the door. He started running when he heard Lucy screaming.

"Lucy!" he cried when he burst into the room.

Lucy threw her sheets on the floor as her arms flailed around. She was having a nightmare.

"Virgo!" she cried. "_Dad! Stop it! Leave her alone!"_

Natsu took hits as he grabbed hold of Lucy and waited for her to calm down. Lucy tried to break free, probably thinking that Natsu was her enemy, but her water-filled eyes snapped open. Her chest rose and fell quickly as she looked around her room, confused.

"Lucy…" started Natsu. "Are you alright?"

The young woman stayed silent as she tried to get her breathing back to normal. Recalling her dream, she started shaking uncontrollably.

"Lucy?" questioned Natsu.

Lucy started to sob hysterically, which caused Natsu to hold her tighter. He let her cry, and patiently waited.

For what seemed like hours, Lucy eventually stopped, but the tears were still there along with sniffing. She pulled herself away from Natsu and turned to face him. "I'm sorry," she said as she looked down.

"There is nothing to apologize for," responded Natsu. "You were having a nightmare. Are you alright now? Do you want me to get you anything?"

"I…I want to talk to you. About…my family."

"Are you sure?"

Lucy nodded her head and repositioned herself on the bed. "After my mom died in a car accident, my dad was never the same again. He started abusing me mentally and physically. One night, I saw my dad…" Lucy's squeezed her eyes shut at the bad memory.

"It's okay, Luce," said Natsu as he placed his and on top of hers.

"He was raping the maid, Virgo. Virgo is like a second mother to me, and to see my dad doing those things…" Lucy paused to steady her breathing. "She kept it in and pretended that she was okay when she was with me. She always smiled and never showed how sad she was. She stayed that way so that I wouldn't feel sad as well. My dad kicked me out of the house to have more time with her…I would take a thousand more hits, just for him to stop torturing her."

Lucy broke out into more sobs as Natsu held her tight once again. She fell asleep in his arms, and he silently cried for her.

The next morning, Lucy woke up tucked into bed. Her headache was gone, and she could finally smell out of her nose. She took a long needed shower and got ready for school. When she went downstairs, she saw Natsu waiting for her at the table with a big brown bag in front of him.

"What's that?" asked Lucy.

"Breakfast," responded Natsu as he took out a large breakfast burrito and tossed it to his companion. "Best in Magnolia."

Lucy caught it and began to unwrap the wrapper as she took a seat across from Natsu who was already digging into his food.

Lisanna waited patiently outside Natsu's home, but out of shyness, she hid herself behind a tree. When she saw the door opening, she quickly hid herself from view. When she heard Natsu talking to someone, she slowly peeked her head out to see who he was with.

_I wonder if it's his cousin_, thought Lisanna.

When she saw that it was Lucy, she dropped to the ground.

_Is Lucy really Natsu's distant cousin? Or did Natsu actually lie to me?_

She felt like her heart was stabbed.

* * *

**Chapter 14 is going to be...interesting...**

**Stay tuuuuuned!**

**Fav? Follow? Review?**

**~Bl00dyshad0w**


	14. Best Couple?

**For those of you who are interested in why I went on hiatus...**

**1.) Prom **

**2.)Finals**

**3.)Graduation**

**4.)Crying because I don't know what I'm going to do with my life now.**

* * *

**_Previously on Bruises on My Heart..._**

_Lisanna waited patiently outside Natsu's home, but out of shyness, she hid herself behind a tree. When she saw the door opening, she quickly hid herself from view. When she heard Natsu talking to someone, she slowly peeked her head out to see who he was with._

I wonder if it's his cousin_, thought Lisanna. _

_When she saw that it was Lucy, she dropped to the ground._

_Is Lucy Natsu's distant cousin? Or did Natsu actually lie to me? _

_She felt like her heart was stabbed._

* * *

For days, the fact that Lucy and Natsu were living together chewed Lisanna up on the inside. Natsu had never lied to her before, and she was shocked that he hid something like that from her.

After school, as Lisanna was walking up to the club room, she ran into Erza.

"Hey, Lisanna," said the scarlet haired woman as she slowed her pace to match her friend's. "What's up?"

"U-Um…I have a question. Natsu doesn't have any relatives, does he? Any that go to this school?"

"I highly doubt that. Why?"

"I was just wondering…" Lisanna bit her lip as she held her school bag tighter.

In the club room, Lisanna couldn't help but glance over at her love rival constantly. Lucy smiled more, she talked more, and Natsu paid attention to her more. Lisanna didn't want to hate her, since she knew that Lucy was a nice person and has been having a hard time, but seeing her with the man that she loves made her gut twist in all the wrong ways.

"Yo, you okay?" asked Elfman as he rested his hand on his sister's shoulder. "You don't look happy like you usually do."

"It's fine…I'm okay, really. I'm just bummed that I need to study for a test soon. I was really hoping that I would be able to shoot some more hoops."

"Lisanna," started Mirajane softly as she knelt by her younger siblings. "We both know what this is about. You won't stop looking over at her."

Lisanna looked away and tried not to cry. The last thing she needed was everyone's attention on her, since the only attention that she wanted was from one person. "It just hurts to see them together…I just wish that there was some way that he could pay attention to me again…"

Gray finished talking to his teachers and was walking up the stairs to go to the club room. As he walked down the hall, he approached Scorpio and Aquarius who were both staring at a poster. Scorpio had his arm draped around his girlfriend's shoulders.

"This is new," stated Aquarius.

"Let's do this, babe," said Scorpio. "We'll totally win."

"Win what?" asked Gray. "What's going on?"

The couple turned to face Gray who has his hands in the pockets of his blazer.

"It's another competition," replied Scorpio. He smirked. "Want to make a bet like old times?"

Gray smirked back. "What are we putting in the pot?"

Aquarius pouted. "Not this again."

Scorpio ignored her. "If you win, you get my fire ant farm like you've always wanted. If I win, I get that crystal snow globe you keep in your room. You know, the limited edition one of Magnolia."

Gray scowled. "Now way! That costed me a fortune!"

"Deal or no deal?"

Gray grunted. He crossed his arms as he pondered over the stakes. Finally, after a moment, Gray walked up to Scorpio with his hand extended. "You have a deal. Be prepared to give the ant farm to me."

Scorpio smirked and shook his rival's hand. "We'll see about that."

Aquarius shook her head and said, "Gray, do you even know what you're getting into?"

Gray took a step back and looked at her. "A competition, right?" He turned his head to get a good look at the poster that the couple were looking at earlier.

Across the top read, "**Best Couple Competition**"

Gray's knees nearly buckled as he read those three words over and over again.

Scorpio laughed. "You can't join if you don't have someone to join with you! Be prepared to hand over that snow globe, loser!"

Gray shook his head. "I know just the girl to ask!" Gray sprinted to the club room.

In the club room, Lucy was talking to Levy and Cana when Gray burst through the doors. He scanned the room quickly until his eyes landed on Lucy. He marched up to her, grabbed her by the shoulders and asked, "Will you be my partner for the best couple competition?"

Everyone stared silently, unsure whether they heard right or not.

Lucy blinked and stuttered, "C-Come again?"

"I blindly agreed to join the competition so that I could win Scorpio's fire ant farm. If I would have known what it was about first, I would have turned it down. I'm sorry, Lucy, but my limited edition snow globe is on the line!"

"B-Best couple? But we're not-"

"We don't have to be! We just have to do whatever activities they throw at us and win!"

Natsu pulled Gray away from Lucy and said, "She doesn't want to be the partner of a pervert like you."

"We're not going to go as a couple," whined Gray.

"But why did you have to pick Lucy?"

Gray stared at Natsu blankly for a moment and was about to respond when Lisanna interrupted. She lightly tugged on the hem of Natsu's unkempt uniform shirt. When he looked down at her, she looked away with a blush on her face.

"If it's okay with you, Natsu," she started. "We could enter it together."

Mirajane giggled somewhere in the background. Lucy looked back and forth between the two and bit her lip.

Natsu thought for a moment and then looked over at Gray with a determined grin. "You know what, Gray? I challenge you as well!"

Gray grunted in frustration. "What could you possibly want that I have?"

"I want you to be my lacky for a month! And if you win, then I'll be yours. Deal?" The pink haired boy held out his hand.

Gray reached out and shook it. "Deal."

Levy cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention. "But Lucy hasn't agreed to anything yet!"

Lucy looked down at her hands and then up at Gray. She smiled and said, "Let's do it."

Lisanna looked up at Natsu and was about to say something inspiring when she stopped. Natsu held a frown as he looked at Gray and Lucy talking to each other. Out of frustration, she turned to Levy who was now talking to Gajeel.

"You two should join the competition as well!"

Gajeel and Levy took one look at each other before bursting out into laughter.

"You're not serious, are you?" asked Gajeel between laughs.

With a pout Lisanna said, "Of course I am! The more the merrier. Plus, if you win, you could have Gray and Natsu as your servants."

Gajeel stroke his chin as he looked down at Levy who was shaking her head furiously. "We'll do it," he said finally.

Lucy checked her watch and then announced that she was going to go home. She was worried about Virgo. Nodding towards Natsu to assure him that she will see him later, Lucy headed home.

After flopping onto her fluffy bed with Happy jumping up beside her, Lucy dialed the mansion. She called three times without anyone picking up. Putting the phone to her chest she sighed and said, "I hope you're alright…"

Lucy took out her schoolwork and started studying.

Natsu came home two hours later. He went to his room to throw his stuff away before going to see Lucy. He burst through the doors without knocking which caused Lucy to fall off her bed.

"You alright?" questioned Natsu innocently.

Lucy grabbed a pillow off her bed and chucked it towards her companion's face. "What if I was changing, you _idiot!_" she shouted. The pillow made a direct hit, which made Natsu stumble back a bit.

The pink haired boy took the pillow and threw it back on the bed. "Hey, why did you agree to be in the couple's competition with Gray?"

"What do you mean? He asked me as a friend."

"I know that, but I mean...it's not like there is anything in it for you."

"Well if you're going to ask me questions like this, why did you agree to pair with Lisanna?"

The two glared at each other for a few moments before Natsu took off saying, "Don't get mad at me when you lose the competition!"

A few days later, the competition arrived. The first event was the three-legged race.

"And what's the point of this event?" asked Gray as the red sash was tied on his left leg and Lucy's right.

"To eliminate the majority of the competitors," replied Lucy. "Levy told me that there is only going to be four people who advance."

Gray popped his neck and smirked as he looked ahead. "This is going to be a piece of cake. We'll go _right left right_, okay?"

"Alright." The two looked ahead, determined.

Lisanna and Natsu were placed two couples in front to them while Levy and Gajeel were three behind.

"Here are the rules!" shouted Makarov through a megaphone. "The winners of each challenge will receive a gift card to one of the local shops. First four to cross the finish line get to advance! Pushing and shoving are allowed! Just don't break or sprain anything! Have fun!"

Lucy looked at the principal wide-eyed. "Did he just say we're allowed to hurt other people?"

Gray nodded. "Yeah. It's frowned upon, but as long as he says so...Lucy, don't hold back!"

"But I don't want to-"

The starting pistol was fired and Lucy, distracted, started off on the wrong foot and stumbled. Gray grabbed her elbow and helped her. Someone from behind shoved them lightly, but they regained their balance quickly.

"Hurry up, guys!" called Levy as her and Gajeel made their way past them. Gajeel looked at them and stuck his pierced tongue out which cause Gray to go into rage mode.

"We can do this, Lucy!" growled Gray. "Right, left, right!"

The two chanted the directions over and over to concentrate on their feet. They quickly built up their speed and passed couple after couple, shoving if they had to.

One couple fell in front of them and was blocking the way. Gray knew that Lucy had every intention in stopping and giving them assistance, but Gray urged her on and said that they would be fine.

After Gajeel saw that Lucy and Gray were in front of them, he gained speed.

"W-Wait, Gajeel!" cried Levy as she tried to keep up.

Lucy and Gray passed Scorpio and Aquarius who were in second, but now third.

"Come on, we can still catch up!" Gray said. The couple began to chant directions faster.

Natsu looked behind him for a brief second and then said something to Lisanna. The two started sprinting.

"They're so in synch…" said Lucy with a frown.

"Don't get distracted now," urged Gray. "Not when we're so close!"

Lucy panted as Gray pulled off the fabric from their legs. They got second place.

"I'm so sorry, Gray," whispered Lucy. She looked over at Natsu and saw him give Lisanna a hug.

"What are you talking about?" Questioned Gray as he threw the fabric to the side. "We're advancing. There's no need to apologize since I'm the one who brought you into this."

"B-But we got second place!"

Gray set his hands on his partner's shoulders and looked into her eyes with a reassuring smile. "It's alright, okay? We'll get first in the end. Don't worry."

Natsu was about to walk over to Gray and Lucy when he saw them smiling at each other. His hands balled into fists. Lisanna grabbed his wrist gently and said, "Makarov gave me two gift cards to the local sushi restaurant. I'll give it to you later, but we better head over to the next area."

Scorpio and Aquarius came over to their competition. Gray smirked. "You look pissed, Scorpio. Is something wrong?"

Scorpio sneered as he draped his arm around his girlfriend. "I'm not giving my ant farm up so easily, ice pick."

"I wonder what the next competition is going to be," questioned Lucy out loud as she followed Gray and the rest of the crowd to the soccer field. She looked around and saw that at the center of the field sat a box with the words, _Baby Tomatoes_ written on it. Over on the edge of the field were large speakers connected to an extension cord. After putting two and two together, Lucy's face heated up to match the bright red hue of the tomatoes.

"What's up?" questioned Gray, noticing her distress.

"I'll have the honor to announce the next challenge!" exclaimed Mavis through the megaphone. Beside her with his arms crossed was Makarov, and on her other side stood Gildarts. Mavis cleared her throat. "The baby tomato dance challenge!"

"The what?" questioned Gray. "What the hell is that?"

Mavis continued. "The rules are very simple. Each couple gets one baby tomato. The tomato is then pressed between their foreheads, and the couple has to slow dance to the music that will be played. Once the tomato falls or is squashed, that couple is _out!_"

The crowed cheered and then proceeded to pull their cameras and phones out. The majority of them were jealous female students, and the males were placing bets.

The four couples were led towards the center of the field where the box of vegetables were. Erza walked out and picked out four baby tomatoes from the box, turned to the couples, and smirked. With the vegetables cupped in her hands, she walked over to each couple who then picked their poison. Erza stopped in front of Lucy and Gray last. "It's the smallest tomato out of the four that I picked out."

Gray picked it up and gulped audibly. "_Gee_, thanks."

"Good luck!" exclaimed Erza before jogging towards the principal.

"Couples!" started Mavis into the megaphone. "Please place the tomatoes between your foreheads!"

Lucy looked over at Aquarius and Scorpio. They shared a quick kiss before carefully placing the tomato between them. Lucy then looked over at Natsu and Lisanna. Lisanna looked bright red, and it seemed like she was arguing with her partner a bit. After a few short moments, they got into position with both of their faces close to one another.

"S-So…" stuttered Gray. He looked away, embarrassed.

"We have no choice," sighed Lucy. She gently took the tomato out of Gray's hand and placed it on her forehead. She looked at him expectantly. "You want that ant farm, don't you?"

Gray looked into her determined brown eyes which brought him some confidence. He quickly nodded his head before gently pressing his forehead against the other end of the tomato.

Lucy blushed. "It is a slow dance, so…" she placed her hands on Gray's shoulders as he gently grabbed her waist.

"You ate some calamari for lunch, didn't you?" questioned Lisanna as she narrowed her eyes. Mirajane revealed the challenge to her ahead of time which gave Lisanna the chance to chew some gum.

"Hey, it's delicious," responded Natsu with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

Mavis brought the megaphone to her mouth. "Play the music!"

The slow beat started. Everyone slowly danced to the sound of a grand piano.

"It's been awhile since we've dance together ne, Natsu?" said Lisanna.

"Yeah, it has been." Natsu's attention wasn't focused on dancing, for he kept trying to turn himself and his partner so that he could scan the field.

"What are you looking for?" questioned Lisanna with a pout. She finally got Natsu to herself and he still wasn't paying attention to her. She looked at his lips which were mere inches away from hers. She felt the heat rise up to her face once more.

Natsu spotted his targets, Lucy and Gray. They looked so graceful as they danced, making them look like professionals. Their eyes were on each other, and they looked focused. What's more is that they looked like an actual couple.

"Natsu!" warned Lisanna, successfully bringing Natsu's attention back to her. "I can feel you squishing the tomato! Be careful, okay?"

Natsu mumbled an apology before leading his partner over to his targets.

Levy's legs were starting to cramp from standing on the tips of her toes for too long. Gajeel was hunched down low, so he wasn't having the time of his life either. "I...I can't do it anymore!" exclaimed Levy.

Gajeel could feel her tiny frame shaking furiously. "Just hold on a little longer! We gotta get that gift card!"

"B-But I-" Levy's legs buckled and she started to fall, but since Gajeel's hands were already on her waist, he had no problem in catching her. The baby tomato bounced off the ground and rolled a few inches away from them.

""We've got our first out!" announced Mavis. "Scorpio, Gray, Natsu, and their partners! Who will win?"

"It's just Scorpio and Natsu left," said Gray.

"I don't know if you have noticed," started Lucy, glancing over to the side. "But I think Natsu and Lisanna are trying to follow us."

"Yeah, I've noticed," replied Gray. "We better move. I have a feeling he wants to mess us up or something."

The two danced faster, yet stayed in sync. Natsu noticed this and fumed more. He started moving faster, but Lisanna was unprepared. Feeling the tomato slipping off his forehead, Natsu put more pressure on it, causing it to explode on both his, and his partner's face.

They jumped a few feet away and blinked as the flattened tomato landed on the ground with a _splat_.

"Natsu and Lisanna are out! Now it's down to the final two couples!" said Mavis.

Gray chuckled. "Flame brain is too hot headed. Now to wait for those other two..."

"But Aquarius and Scorpio…" Lucy glanced over at the couple, straining her eyes. They looked calm and comfortable, and they weren't even breaking a sweat.

Gray and Lucy on the other hand...They could feel the tomato slipping due to the slickness of their foreheads. Lucy tried pushing the vegetable up, but it only made it worse. Their tomato dropped.

"And the winner is…" started Mavis. "Scorpio and Aquarius!"

The crowd roared and applauded for the two. As Makarov walked over to hand the winning couple their gift card, Lucy sighed. "I did it again," she said, looking down.

"Did what?" asked Gray. "Got us to advance?"

"We were so close to getting first. If I didn't move my head-"

Gray set his hands on her shoulder. "Lucy, it's Aquarius and Scorpio. The are very comfortable with each other, and the chance of us winning this against them weren't very high in the first place. Besides, we have a couple more challenges. That means two more opportunities to place first. And if we don't win in the end, we'll be fine. We're having fun, right? That's what counts."

Lucy looked up at him and smiled, crinkling her eyes a bit. "Thank you, Gray. I needed to hear that."

"Yo!" called Natsu irritably after wiping the tomato juice off of his face with a handkerchief. "It's time to go to the next area!"

Lucy and Gray looked at Natsu and then back at each other before nodding. They headed into the auditorium where the next challenge was to take place.

"All remaining couples, please make your way backstage!" called Gildarts into the megaphone.

The couples stood in a circle behind the thick velvet curtains as they awaited their instruction. Mavis stepped into the center and said, "The next is going to see which couple looks the best in whichever random outfit the ladies select!"

Erza, holding back her urges, rolled forward a rack of dresses, each numbered and covered with black fabric so they couldn't be seen.

"Ladies," started Mavis, smiling. "Please pick out your outfit!"

The girls each took turns picking out their dress. They looked at each other nervously, unsure what to expect.

"Please remove the number and give it to your partner. Their outfit will be waiting for them in their dressing room," said Mavis.

Lucy tore off the sticker that said number three and handed it to Gray. "This better be good," he mumbled before taking off with the other boys. Lucy followed the girls to their dressing room.

"You have twenty minutes to get ready!" called Mavis through the half open door. She shut it, and the sound of her quick footsteps could be heard as it faded away.

There were three women standing in the room with them. The tallest one spoke. "We'll be here if you need assistance adjusting your dresses. We also have the dresses in different sizes."

Lisanna's dress was light purple. The top half resembled a corset with multiple sequins placed here and there. On the back were ribbons for lacing it together so that the person in the dress could achieve a very curvy look. The bottom of the dress was large and poofy, and would ultimately require a hoop skirt. Layer after layer of light purple ruffles made the dress look more puffy than it actually was.

Looking over at Aquarius, Lucy saw that she got a dress that suited her. It was a long, light blue deep V-neck with beads sewn onto it. Instead of it being poofy, it was straight. The sleeves, however, had tails that were long and reached the floor.

The girls looked over at Lucy who had not yet revealed what was hiding behind the black cloth. She slowly pulled it off and blushed from head to toe.

"It's like a wedding dress!" exclaimed Lisanna.

The dress was white and strapless. The top half was corest-like, similar to Lisanna's. The bottom had a cupcake feel to it. At the front it was short and poofy, stopping a few inches above the knees, but the back was long and straight.

Lucy blushed at Lisanna's comment. "D-Don't be silly!" she stuttered.

One of the three seamstress cleared her throat and said, "You guys better get ready. You only have eighteen minutes left."

The boys, already dressed in their suits, waited patiently on their side of the stage. They were not allowed to see their partner until the moment they walked down the walkway together. Scorpio stood in front, followed by Natsu and then Gray.

"What's taking the girls so long?" complained Natsu as he crossed his arms over his chest. "This jacket is making me uncomfortable."

"I'm surprised you haven't figured that this competition is mainly to show off the girls, so of course they're going to take their sweet time. We only get a tux that matches the color of their dress." said Scorpio as he looked to the side.

Gray scoffed. "How are you surprised? It's Natsu for fuck's sake."

Natsu was about to turn around to punch Gray in the face when one of the stage crew members said that the girls were in position. The spotlight turned on and lighted the wall, waiting for someone to walk into it.

"For our first couple, we have Scorpio and Aquarius!" Boomed Erza's voice. Many girls in the crowd squealed.

Scorpio walked out. Once he laid eyes on his girlfriend, he gave her a loud wolf whistle. "You look _hot_," he commented once they reached each other. The two reached the end of the walk where Scorpio gave Aquarius a quick peck on the lips before heading back.

"Next!" cried Erza, excitement and drool coming out of her. "Natsu and Lisanna!"

Lucy took a couple steps forward after Lisanna walked out. When she got a good look at Natsu, she blushed. He smiled widely as he held his arm out for Lisanna, which she took. Lucy felt something stir within her, and she did not like the feeling.

"You're up next!" said Levy through the sound of the audience cheering. Her sudden presence caused Lucy to jump. She lightly pushed Lucy on the back. "I can't wait for the spotlight to be on you!"

Lucy stumbled forward slightly before fixing herself. "_Levy!_" she scolded. When Lisanna came back backstage, the two glanced at each other quickly before looking away awkwardly.

"And for our final two contestants, Gray and Lucy!" Erza was practically on the judging table. Gildarts and Mavis had to attempt to pull her down.

"Good luck," said Natsu as he patted Gray on the shoulder as the two walked passed each other. He felt Gray stop suddenly which caused him to turn.

Lucy walked out into the light like an angel in white. Her blonde hair cascaded down her back like the sun's rays. Her dress, long in the back, flowed behind her. The crowd, who was cheering, became quiet.

"That's..._Lucy?_" whispered someone in the crowd.

"_Gray is one lucky guy,_" whispered a male student.

"_Wow_," whispered Gray. He left Natsu's side and walked up to his partner with his arm extended. "You look beautiful," he told her, a blush creeping up onto his face.

"Th-Thank you," replied Lucy, taking his arm. The two walked together looking like a bride and her groom.

Natsu was pulled backstage by Scorpio who said, "Snap out of it, stupid!"

The pink haired male shook his head and headed out of the auditorium to get some fresh air.

"Where's Natsu?" questioned Lisanna as she frantically looked around backstage. "They are going to announce the winners soon!"

"There is no time, you have to go out!" said Levy as she took her friend's wrist. "He'll show up eventually."

The couples, save for Natsu, walked out onto the stage together. They looked out into the audience and saw the faces of many of their peers. Lucy caught sight of Levy who joined the crowd and was given a thumbs up.

"Where is Natsu?" questioned Makarov into his megaphone.

Natsu's loud footsteps were heard as he ran onto the stage. He stood next to Lisanna and held out his arm for her, and she took it with a relieved sigh.

"This one was tough to judge," started Erza as she looked down at her papers. "But we have come to a conclusion. In third place…"

Lucy unconsciously grabbed hold of Gray's hand. The two looked at each other awkwardly before looking back at Erza.

The president continued. "Scorpio and Aquarius!"

Scorpio and Aquarius looked at her in disbelief. Gray smirked and said, "I'll expect the ant farm ready by tonight."

The losing couple sneered as they walked backstage hand-in-hand.

"And in second place…" resumed Erza. "Natsu and Lisanna!"

The audience clapped hysterically.

Lucy blinked a few times and asked, "So wait...what about us?"

Gray threw his head back and laughed. "What are you, stupid? We got first place!" he picked his partner up into a hug and then twirled her around a couple times.

Makarov approached the two and handed them each a gift card to Connell Italian. Both Lucy and Gray grunted in frustration, and Makarov couldn't help but snicker evilly.

"The last event will be taking place in front of the school!" announced Mavis gleefully. She followed the others out.

In front of the school were two separate tables. Lucy and Gray occupied one and was instructed to stand facing each other. The other couple did the same.

"This is a taste testing competition!" said Gildarts. "The men will be blindfolded and will be the one to guess the food."

On that note, two students brought out a blindfold and tied it over the male competitor's eyes. When both were secure, eight different students approached. Four to each table. They each carried a plate with something on it, and they set it down in front of the couples.

Lucy looked down at the four plates. The plate marked number one had a small celery stick. Number two had a quarter of a glazed doughnut. Number three had a small broccoli head. And number four had a single small blueberry.

After the eight students left the tables, Gildarts continued. "Girls, your job is going to be interesting. You need to feed these items to your partner. With your _mouth_! And you cannot advance to the next plate until your partner guesses it right!"

Lucy looked down at plate number four with wide eyes. _There's no way I can do this_, she thought. She could hear herself screaming internally. She turned to look at Lisanna who turned around as well. They could see the fear and nervousness written in each other's eyes.

"On your marks!" started Mavis. The girls positioned themselves. "Get set…._go!_"

Lucy leaned down and picked the end of the celery up with her teeth. Gray leaned forward with his mouth slightly open. Lucy leaned forward as well, and when Gray felt the tip of the celery on his lip, he bit it, taking it away from Lucy as he chewed on it.

"Celery," he said instantly.

"Correct," said the spotter. "Next plate."

Lucy repeated the process with the doughnut, making sure that their mouths stayed as far away as it possibly could.

"Doughnut," said Gray after swallowing the sweet.

"Correct," said the spotter.

Lucy looked down at the broccoli, which was much smaller than she was accustomed to. She picked it up by the bush, figuring that it would be easier. When Gray grabbed it from her, their mouths nearly touched. He blushed, aware of how close they were due to the heat Lucy was giving off.

"B-Broccoli," stammered Gray.

"Correct," said the spotter. "Last plate."

Lucy stared at the blueberry. _There is no possible way we can do this without kissing,_ she thought.

"_Uh-oh!_" said Gildarts. "It looks like the two couples are down to their last plate! But neither of the girls seem to want to move forward. Sometime today, ladies."

"You can do this," said Gray encouragingly.

Lucy nodded her head and picked the blueberry up. She slowly leaned in close to Gray's face and stopped once their lips were a mere inch apart. She closed her eyes and quickly transferred the blueberry, pressing her lips upon Gray's as she did so, and then quickly jumped back. Everyone looked at Gray in anticipation.

"Blueberry," he said.

"Congratulations, Lucy and Gray!" shouted Makarov. "You are the winners of this competition!"

Gray pulled his blindfold off and threw it to the side. He looked embarrassed, but he tried his best to hide it. Natsu pulled his blindfold off as well, only to see Lisanna on the verge of tears.

"I couldn't do it…" she said quietly. "I don't know why, but I just couldn't…"

Mirajane jogged towards her sister, took her by the shoulders, and started to lead her away from the crowd. She quickly looked back at Natsu with a smile and said, "Thanks for doing this with her."

Makarov handed Lucy a gift basket that had couple-y stuff like a couple movies, popcorn, some gift cards to fancy restaurants, and two tickets to the new amusement park that would be opening in the spring.

"Where did you guys get the money to buy all these stuff?" questioned Lucy.

"We were sponsored by the restaurants that we gave you guys the gift cards to, as well as the new amusement park. In case you haven't noticed, photographers from the newspaper and journalists are here." Makarov turned to the crowd and shouted, "How about a kiss from the winners?"

The audience squealed and then looked at Lucy and Gray expectantly. Lucy scanned the faces in the crowd, but froze when she spotted Juvia. She looked broken as she stood there, staring at Lucy with red, puffy eyes.

Lucy shook her head and handed Gray the basket. "I-I'm sorry," she said. "I've got to head home." She pushed her way out of the crowd and then ran out the gates. When she got home, she took care of Happy and then jumped on her bed. She pulled her phone out and was about to call Virgo when Natsu made his way into the room.

"Don't," stated Lucy, done for the day.

"Don't what?" Natsu questioned with a raise of his eyebrow. "Don't congratulate you? I want a rematch by the way."

"Hell no. I felt so uncomfortable."

Natsu remembered how Lucy looked in her white dressed and blushed slightly. "You looked really nice…" he mumbled.

"What did you say?"

"N-Nothing. Anyways, Lisanna and I could have won, but I don't even know why she decided not to feed me what was on that last plate."

Lucy sat up. "Natsu...did you not see it? It was a little blueberry."

"I would have guess that quickly!"

"You don't understand. It's a _little_ blueberry. You two would have had to kiss."

Natsu stared at Lucy blankly as he processed what she just said. Said girl sighed heavily and shook her head. "You're so dense."

"Wait a second," started Natsu. The blood drained from his face. "If you guys won, that means you two went through all the plates?"

Lucy blushed and looked away from Natsu's eyes. "Y-Yeah. I had to feed him the blueberry."

Without saying another word, Natsu walked to his room.

The following day at school, Lucy and Natsu were called down to the principal's office in the middle of their last class of the day. They headed there together awkwardly, for they haven't spoken since the previous night. Not even Gray said anything, and he didn't even talk to Natsu about the deal they made prior to the competition.

"I wonder what we did," questioned Lucy out loud. She didn't expect an answer, and she didn't get one.

Natsu held the door open for Lucy and followed her in after she went inside the room. Makarov was sitting behind his desk with his arms folded over his chest. He looked at the two sternly as they sat in the two chairs in front of him.

"What's up, gramps?" asked Natsu casually.

Makarov cleared his throat loudly. "It has occurred to me that Natsu was kicked out of the student apartments and is now living with you, Lucy."

The two teens stared at Makarov stoically.

"What?" asked Makarov. "I'm the principal. I'm sure you've expected that I would find out about this sooner or later. Anyways, I cannot let this continue without a guardian's consent. I am technically Natsu's guardian, but your guardian has to give the okay as well, Lucy."

Lucy started to sweat. "I-I don't know...Natsu really doesn't have anywhere else to stay and-"

"I could call your home right now if you want," said the principal as he pulled his cord phone closer to him.

Lucy looked at Natsu who was staring at the desk with a hard expression. She didn't know what to expect. "Alright," she said finally, looking back at Makarov. "Go ahead and call."

Makarov dug through his files and pulled out Lucy's folder. He dialed the mansion's number and waited as he listened to the long rings.

"Hello?" he finally said. Lucy tried to strain her ears to listen to the other person on the line, but she couldn't hear anything. "Is this Jude Heartfilia? This is Makarov Dreyar, principal of Fairy Tail High. I am calling on behalf of your daughter, Lucy- No, no, nothing like that. Her male classmate was kicked out of his dorm a while ago, and your daughter generously let him stay with her. I can't let this continue unless you say it's okay. Yes….yes….Alright, thank you for your time." Makarov set the phone back on its holder and sighed.

"Well?" questioned Lucy expectantly.

"He said...he said he's okay with it."

The blonde teen narrowed her eyes. "And...what did he _really _say?"

The principal sighed once again. "If you must know...He said that he doesn't care."

Lucy's eyes cast downward, but then she looked up at Natsu and smiled. "Did you hear that? You can stay with me!"

Natsu glanced at her and blushed. "Thank you, Luce.

* * *

**Fun fact: I used my prom dress to help me describe Lisanna's dress xD Oh geez it was the biggest dress there O.o PROM. SO GLAD I WENT.**

**Well now that I found my writing groove, I need to kick myself in the ass so I won't go into ANOTHER hiatus. I'm so sorry.**


	15. Forgiven

**Welcome back!**

**Guys! I didn't realize that yesterday was the last day for NaLu week, and I told myself I was going to do it this year! D: I am so disappointed in myself. **

* * *

_**Previously on Bruises on My Heart**_

_The principal sighed once again. "If you must know...He said that he doesn't care."_

_Lucy's eyes cast downward, but then she looked up at Natsu and smiled. "Did you hear that? You can stay with me!"_

_Natsu glanced at her and blushed. "Thank you, Luce._

* * *

Winter began.

The students were excited for the arrival of the transfer students from New Magnolia, but none were more excited than Elfman. Him and his girlfriend would finally be going to the same school.

There were eight new transfer students, but none of them were put into class 2-B since it was full.

During lunch, an underclassmen came into the room with a single rose in his hand. He looked around nervously but froze when his eyes met Erza's.

"Who's that?" whispered Levy as she leaned in. The group had their desks closed in together by the windows.

"Whoever he is," started Gray as he crossed his arms. "He's coming this way."

The boy walked up to Erza and presented his rose to her. She took it. "I like you, Erza Scarlet," he stated with a blush. The room broke out into ferocious whispers, and then silenced as they waited for Erza's response.

Erza sighed and replied, "I'm sorry, but I'm already…there is someone else. Sorry."

The room broke out into more whispers and the boy left, embarrassed.

Erza sunk into her seat and sighed again. "I thought boys were done confessing to me," she complained.

"Wait…" started Lucy. "So who's this guy that you're talking about?"

Erza blushed, causing Levy to smile from ear to ear. "You didn't know?" she said. "She's dating a university man."

Lucy choked on her juice. The group waited for her to recovers. "_University_?"

"It's not that big of a deal," said Erza shyly. "He's older than me by only a couple years. Plus I'm not the only one. Mirajane is dating a guy who goes to the same university."

Natsu grunted. "Laxus. He's a stuck up piece of shit."

Gray rolled his eyes. "You just don't like the way you always lose when you pick a fight with him."

"Natsu and Laxus have known each other for a long time," explained Erza to Lucy. "Since Natsu was over at Makarov's a lot, he got to see his grandson when he came over."

"Laxus is the principal's grandson?" questioned Lucy. _If his grandson is already in university…_ thought Lucy, taking a sip from her juice box,_ then exactly how old is Makarov?_

"Jellal can also be a pain in the ass," stated Gray. "Erza's boyfriend."

"H-He's not my boyfriend," stuttered the scarlet haired woman.

Lucy finished her juice and looked down at the box in disappointment. "I'm going to the vending machine," she said as she got up.

As she was walking through the halls, she kept hearing people whisper about her and Gray and what happened at the competition.

"_Do you really think that they are together or something?_"

"_I heard that they just went as friends. Thank God."_

"_I wonder how Juvia reacted to all that_."

Remembering Juvia's face after the competition was over made Lucy's stomach turn. Once she reached the vending machines, she saw that it was occupied by Aries. Her fluffy pink hair bounced as she struggled to get coins out of her wallet. Realizing that she didn't have enough currency for the drink that she wanted, she sighed and gave up.

"It's okay," started Lucy as she took out her coin purse. "I'll pay for yours. I have plenty of coins to spare."

"I-It's okay," started Aries. "You really don't have to. It's just a drink."

"I insist."

The underclassman smiled widely. "Thank you so much," she said. After Lucy handed the drink to her, Aries asked, "You're Lucy, right?"

"Yeah…" Lucy picked out the soda that she wanted and grabbed it after it dropped. "Why?"

"It's just…" Aries looked away with a blush on her face. "I heard about what happened during the race and how Loke saved you…"

Lucy laughed nervously. "Yeah…Loke's actually a pretty nice guy."

"He really is…" Aries look at the clock on the wall and exclaimed, "_Oops! _I've stayed here too long! I need to get back to my class to finish up my lunch. It was nice meeting you, Lucy! I'm Aries, by the way."

"It was nice meeting you too, Aries."

The two walked off in separate directions.

After school, Natsu went home first while Lucy stayed behind with Levy for a bit.

"What's up?" asked Lucy.

"Well…" started Levy as she looked away shyly. "I've been wanting to ask you this for a while now, but do you want to have a sleep over at my house tonight? I mean…It doesn't have to be tonight. It's just a thought. We could like, play video games and eat ice cream and stuff…"

Lucy smiled. "Tonight sounds fantastic!" Her smile quickly turned into a frown. "I don't know how I feel about leaving Natsu alone in my house, though."

Levy laughed. "I'm sure he won't cause too much of a mess in one night!"

Lucy remembered the morning when he tried to make breakfast and shuddered. The two girls walked to Lucy's home and went inside.

"What's for dinner, Lucy?" asked an anxious Natsu. He was sitting on the couch, flipping through the channels with Happy resting peacefully on his lap.

"About that…" started Lucy. "You're going to have to get take out or something because I'm going to be sleeping over at Levy's tonight. Don't even try to make anything, understand?"

"_What?_" cried Natsu, causing Happy to hop off. Natsu jumped over the couch and approached the girls. "You're leaving me to _starve?_"

Levy smacked his head. "She's trusting you enough to leave you alone for the night. Be a little grateful, Natsu. Besides, don't you work tonight? You could just eat there for crying out loud."

"But I'm so tired of eating there all the time!" he complained. He looked at Lucy and sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll take care of the house for you, so don't you worry!"

Lucy packed up her things and left with Levy, still unsure if leaving Natsu alone for the night was the best idea.

"Gajeel use to live in one of those apartments," said the blue haired girl as she pointed out the apartments they walked by. She looked a little disappointed. "Now he and I don't walk to school together that often."

"Don't you live close by?"

"Yeah, right here!"

The two stopped in front of a home smaller to Lucy's in size. It was bright white, and the front lawn was neatly decorated with stones and various lawn ornaments.

"It looks really pretty," commented Lucy.

Levy pushed the gates open and the two walked to the front. "I have to tell you something…a lot of people don't know this, but my parents are…_different_."

"What do you mean?" asked Lucy.

"Well…"

The door swung open and a man stood before them. He was tall and slim. His hair was black with a strange strand prominently sticking out in the back. He wore a fitted white shirt and green and black checkered pants.

"Levy!" he exclaimed as he gathered the thin, small girl in his arms. "You're home!" He looked over at Lucy and grinned. He released his daughter from his arms and then embraced her friend. "You must be Lucy! Levy has told us so much about you!"

Lucy, eyes wide in surprise, looked over at Levy for help. Her friend silently snickered.

"Come in, come in!" said Levy's father. He shut the door behind the two and said, "My name is Droy!"

"And you can call me Jet!" another male came into the room carrying a tray of assorted crackers, salami, and cheese. "And you must be Lucy," he said, looking over at the blonde. Jet was also tall, and his orange hair was gathered into a high, spikey pony tail. "I have some snacks here for you girls. Levy texted me saying that you were finally coming over!"

"We've been so excited!" exclaimed Droy.

Lucy looked back and forth between the two, processing what was going in.

_My parents are…_different.

Lucy finally realized. "Thank you so much for having me here," she said with a beaming smile. "You have a lovely home."

"She is so cute!" said Droy. As he walked towards the kitchen he said, "I'll start getting dinner ready! I hope breaded pork chops are okay!"

Jet handed Levy the platter of snacks. "You can take these up to your room. Just make sure to clean up your mess, okay? What do you girls want to drink?"

"I'll have some water," said Levy as she started walking to the stairs.

"Juice, please," said Lucy, following her companion.

Levy opened the door to her room with one hand and entered followed by Lucy. It had a large window, letting light shine throughout the room. The walls were painted light blue. The sheets on the bed were blue. Even the big, fuzzy rug was blue. She owned a bookshelf filled with books, and there were even more stacked on the sides of it. She also had a large brown desk with an open laptop sitting on top of it.

"Your room looks nice," complimented Lucy as she shut the door. "You're lucky."

Levy set the tray on her foot rest and then pulled it to the middle of her room. "Thank you!" She turned her television on and then her gaming console. "And thanks for being so polite to my dads. I should have warned you sooner, but with how I was treated in the past, I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"What happened?" asked Lucy curiously.

"Well…" Levy handed Lucy a controller. "I use to be bullied because I have two dads. They eventually took me out of that school, and since then, I haven't been open with who my family is."

"Oh…your dads are so nice, though. I'm glad I came."

The two girls smiled at each other. They heard a knock on the door, and then Jet came in with two glasses. "Here you girls go," he said, handing them their drinks.

"Thank, dad," said Levy.

"Thank you, Jet," said Lucy.

After he left, the girls got into a heated battle as they played against each other in the game.

Natsu was as upbeat as ever during work, and even earned a lot of tips. It was now late, and his shift was about to end.

"Good job today," said Bisca. She handed him some cash and said, "My husband told me that you said Lucy was staying over with a friend. Dinner is on me tonight. Get some pizza or something."

"It's fine, thanks," said Natsu as he took his pouch off and threw it in his cubby.

"I insist. Take it."

Natsu sighed and accepted the cash. "Thank you."

The nights were now cold. Natsu stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jacket and sighed as he walked over to the pizza shop. His thoughts kept going back to the couple's competition.

When he got home with the warm box of pizza in his hands, he immediately got comfortable on the couch and proceeded to watch an action movie. When that was done, he fed Happy and was about to climb up the stairs when he stopped to look at the picture hanging on the wall. The one of Lucy and Virgo.

"_That damn son of a bitch has no right to be Lucy's father,_" he growled. He went up to the bathroom and proceeded to take a bath.

The next morning at school, Lucy stopped Natsu once she saw him walk through the gates. "Hey!" she said.

"Morning," he replied. "How was Levy's?"

"It was so much fun! It was the first time that I've ever slept over at someone's home. Did you take care of the house like you promised?"

"It looks just as you left it, I swear."

Lucy sighed in relief. "That's good. We better get to class, then."

During lunch, as Lucy was happily chatting away with her group as usual, Juvia walked into the room. All went silent as they watched her walk towards the group of six crowded in the corner.

"Are you here for Gray again?" asked Gajeel before placing a large portion of meat into his mouth.

Juvia didn't reply. Gray expected her to say something to him, so he mentally prepared himself. Instead, she looked over at Lucy and asked, "Can I speak with you for a moment, please?"

Gray narrowed his eyes as he remembered what she tried to do with her. "Absolutely not," he responded, standing up. "Not after last time."

Juvia looked like she was on the verge of tears. "Please…I won't do anything crazy this time. I promise."

Gray was about to continue rejecting for Lucy when the blonde woman stood up. "It's okay," she said. "I'll talk to you."

The two walked out and headed towards the vending machines where no one was at. Juvia bought herself a drink before turning back to Lucy. "I apologize for my attitude these past months. I've just been…not feeling right in the head. It dawned on me during the competition when you were asked to kiss Gray, but when you saw me, you left. Thank you."

"I-It's nothing. I wouldn't have kissed him regardless."

"But you had to for the final competition. I still love him, and I don't think I will be able to move on, so I'm going to tell you this right now. You are my love rival, and I won't give up on my Gray."

Lucy smiled. "Well…I'm not even going after Gray, but…okay."

When Lucy came back into the room by herself, her friends instantly pounced on her, asking what happened.

"W-We just talked for a bit!" she replied, pushing passed them to get to her food.

"About what?" asked Erza.

"She apologized to me."

Gray stayed silent as the rest of the group asked more questions.

"Guys, don't forget about staying after school for the meeting," said Levy as she fixed her desk. The rest of the class helped re-arrange the room before the bell started to ring.

In the club room, Cana draped her arm around Lucy and said, pointing at the woman sitting next to Elfman, "That's Evergreen."

She had long wavy hair, similar to Cana's but light brown. She wore glasses, and on her wrist was a jade bracelet.

"She's beautiful," commented Lucy. She looked over at Elfman and noticed how soft he looked with her sitting by him. His sisters came over to talk with him and his girlfriend.

"We need to discuss about the upcoming winter ball," stated Erza. "We need to make it big! Bold! _Beautiful!_"

"Did you think of any themes yet?" asked Levy.

"No. Let's brainstorm. _Lisanna! _Any ideas?"

Lisanna almost jumped out of her skin after hearing her name being called. "U-Um… Winter Wonderland?"

"_That is overused!_" exclaimed Erza. "_Natsu!_"

Natsu tapped his chin. "What if we switch it up, so instead of winter it could be summer?"

"That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard," commented Gray. Natsu whacked him in the face.

"_Levy!_" shouted the president.

Levy looked around nervously, hoping to quickly come up with some kind of inspiration. "Crystallized Dreams?"

Everyone thought about how the theme would fit into the dance, and imagined how they would set up the room. Everyone nodded.

"Sounds pretty good," said Erza. "Anyone else have any ideas?"

There was a knock on the door, and then a female figure stepped in. Juvia.

"H-Hi," she said. She looked down and bit her lip.

"May we help you?" asked Mirajane.

"Yes, actually." Juvia looked up and stated, "I know it's pretty late, but I would like to join this club."

The club members look at each other and then back at Juvia.

Gray stood up. "No," he said. "I'm sorry, but I don't think that's a good idea."

"Gray…" said Mirajane softly.

Juvia stood strong, although she didn't look Gray in the face. "I knew you would say that, but I really do want to join."

"I'm also going to say no for this one," stated Cana.

More people in the room nodded their head in agreement.

Lucy stood up. "I say we should let her join."

All heads snapped towards her, surprised. Lucy was the person they would least expect to stand up for Juvia.

Lucy continued. "I feel like we need to forgive Juvia. She doesn't mean any harm anymore, and she's just looking for acceptance. Please let her join…" she looked at Erza for approval.

Erza sighed. "I'll bring it up with Makarov, so in the meantime…" she looked over at Juvia with a smile. "Welcome to the Fairy Tail Guild, Juvia."

Juvia smiled widely and took a seat on an empty chair, close to Lucy and Cana. Gray slumped into his seat.

"Juvia," started Erza, continuing where she left off. "Any ideas of a theme for this year's winter ball?"

Juvia thought hard. "What about…something that involves fire?"

"Like summer!" exclaimed Natsu.

"No, no…I mean like…what about Fire and Ice?"

"_Ooh_, that actually sounds pretty cool," said Evergreen.

Elfman immediately agreed with her, and then the rest of the people in the room slowly started nodding their head.

"So Fire and Ice or Crystallized Dreams," said Erza. "Raise your hand for Crystallized Dreams."

Gray, Cana, Levy and Lisanna raised their hands.

"And for Fire and Ice?"

The rest of the people raised their hands.

"Fire and Ice it is! Thank you, Juvia."

Juvia blushed and smiled sweetly. She did not look like the distressed person she was before, which made Lucy smile.

When the meeting was over, Lucy headed home first. As Natsu was about to leave, Lisanna stopped him. "Hey," she started. "Want to go grab something to eat with me?"

Natsu looked over at the door and saw Lucy's retreating figure. "Sure," he replied. "I feel like eating some noodles." He quickly texted Lucy that he would be eating out and then left the school with Lisanna.

They sat inside a ramen shop, waiting for their orders. Natsu went on and on about how he wanted to beat some people up, sports, and his winter ball idea.

Lisanna interrupted him. "Why are you living with Lucy?"

Natsu stared at her blankly as their bowls of noodles were placed before them. "How did you know?"

"I saw you two at the house…so why her?"

"Well…there was no one else. I didn't want to bother her, but she insisted that I stay. Her dad gave us permission to live together, plus Happy likes her."

Lisanna was silent as she stirred her noodles around in the broth with her chopsticks. "Does…Happy like me?"

"Of course he does. Why?"

"Natsu…how would you feel if we…if we started dating?"

Natsu pondered over the thought as he chowed down on his meal. Half way through, he wiped his mouth with a cloth and said, "Dating? But we're friends."

Lisanna's eyes blurred with tears. "Natsu, stop being so dense!"

Natsu looked at her seriously. "I understood what you were saying, Lisanna."

Levy was looking through Lucy's fridge when a phone on the counter started vibrating wildly. It was Lucy's, and the caller I.D said _Mansion_.

Levy picked it up. "Hello? This is Lucy's friend, Levy."

"Oh, Levy!" said the woman on the other line. "Lucy has told me so much about you! Thank you so much for taking care of her. Where is Lucy, by the way?"

"She is in the restroom right now, but I'm sure she'll be out in a minute."

"I actually called to ask about…a boy. I heard that she has been living with this guy named Natsu. Do you know anything about him? Is he a criminal?"

Levy laughed. "Natsu? Criminal? No way. He actually insisted to Lucy that he should find another place to live since he didn't think it was appropriate for them to live together without permission, but Lucy knew that he didn't have anywhere else to go."

"I see…Is he treating her well, then?"

"I think so. He helped take care of her while she was sick, even though he was bad at it. You have no need to worry, though. Natsu is a really good guy."

"I see…that's good."

Lucy walked into the room and was startled to find Levy talking on her phone. Levy quickly gave it to her with a nervous laugh. "I'm pretty sure it's Virgo," she said.

"Hello?" asked Lucy once she put the phone up to her ear.

Virgo went off on her about how she was disappointed by the fact she let Natsu live with her without even trying to get permission in the first place. She then proceeded to remind Lucy of what happened when she let Lyon in. After a few more minutes of ranting, Virgo finally calmed down.

"Virgo…" started Lucy. "I know you're mad at me, but-"

"No. I'm proud of you."

"Huh?"

"You've been helping someone in need, which is commendable. I have no choice but to trust you know what you're doing. Now with that said, I'm going to let you go so you can spend some time with Levy. I love you, Lucy."

Tears started forming in Lucy's eyes. "I love you too, Virgo. I'll talk to you soon."

As they hung up, Levy got a call from Gajeel. She answered it, and after a few moments of a heated argument, Levy hung up.

"What is it?" asked Lucy.

"Gajeel said that he's coming over to play poker with us," she mumbled.

"Wait…How does Gajeel know where I live?"

"I told him everything the day that you stayed at home because you were sick. He also came over for a bit to help, but he was really bad at it so I sent him away with Erza and Gray."

There was a loud knock on the door. Levy grunted and said, "It's probably him."

Lucy opened the door, and sure enough, Gajeel stood in front of her, piercings and all.

"I've been pretty bored, so I've come to play poker," he stated, flashing his box of cards.

"O-Okay," said Lucy, letting him in. She got the snacks ready as Levy set up their playing area in the living room in front of the television.

The three played multiple times, and for most games, Levy won. They used candy as their chips, and towards the end of their seventh game, Levy had a pile of candy sitting in front of her.

"That's not fair!" shouted Gajeel. "You must be cheating or something! I'm down to my last candy!"

"It's not my fault you don't know when to fold," taunted Levy as she stuck her tongue out.

The front door opened and Natsu stepped inside and removed his shoes. He paused in surprise for a brief moment after seeing the three in the living room playing poker.

"Yo!" exclaimed Gajeel with a wave of his hand. "Want to join?"

Natsu looked over at Lucy and said, "I need to talk to you in private."

* * *

**Thank you for all the positive feedback! It makes me blush ^_^**

**I tried to draw another scene from this story. Didn't work out well. I can't draw anymore D:**


	16. His Feelings

**Welcome back! I'm so sorry I left you guys off at a cliffhanger, but I'm evil. :)**

**I'm sorry this chapter is a bit on the shorter side :/**

* * *

_**Previously on Bruises on My Heart:**_

_The front door opened and Natsu stepped inside and removed his shoes. He paused in surprise for a brief moment after seeing the three in the living room playing poker._

"_Yo!" exclaimed Gajeel with a wave of his hand. "Want to join?"_

_Natsu looked over at Lucy and said, "I need to talk to you in private."_

* * *

Lucy grabbed her coat before following Natsu outside. She was puzzled by his serious aura, and silently hoping that nothing was wrong. She walked behind him as he approached the canal. He stared out into the distance with his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets. "What's wrong?" asked Lucy worriedly as she stepped beside her companion.

Natsu turned his head to face her. "I had a talk with Lisanna today," he said.

Lucy looked away. "O-Oh? About what?"

"About me and her. She wanted to know how I would feel if we started dating. She told me that she's been wanting to ask me out for a long time…"

Lucy's hands clenched into fists. She tried to put up a brave front. "I'm surprised you haven't figured this out sooner, Natsu. It was obvious. But now that you two are dating, what-"

Natsu turned to face her. "Woah! I never said that we were dating!"

"Then what did you tell her?"

"I told her that I couldn't be anything more than friends with her, and that I didn't have the same feelings as she did."

"But Lisanna loves you so much…and you two would be great together! Why don't you give her a chance!"

_What am I doing?_ Questioned Lucy to herself. _I'm saying these things but…they're hurting me…_

Natsu grabbed Lucy's shoulders and turned her to face him. She looked up into his coal black eyes that looked down at her seriously. "Lisanna isn't the one who I think about all day," he said in a hushed voice. He leaned in and gently pressed his lips against hers.

Lucy was in complete shock, and was only able to register what had happened after Natsu pulled away.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. His face turned visibly red in the moonlight.

"I-I'm going to go for a walk…" Lucy mumbled before leaving Natsu who stood there, staring at her retreating figure.

Lucy passed store after store. She didn't think about where she was going or how long she was going to be out. All she could think about what Natsu. Her face reddened at the remembrance of his warm lips, so she covered her mouth with her hand and tried to push down the memory.

_Is this really happening?_ She asked herself frantically.

Lucy looked around her. She was at the square. The large clock mounted on a tall building read that it was ten at night, and snow started to gently fall from the sky. No one else was around, except for a dark figure holding a plastic bag walking towards Lucy.

"H-Hello?" she called.

"Lucy?" came the voice. From out of the shadows, Gray stepped out in a long black coat. "What are you doing out here at this time of night? It's dangerous!"

"I came out here to think…" Lucy turned her back to him.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

The two sat down on one of the benches, and they both stayed silent as a few people walked by.

"Natsu kissed me," Lucy said finally.

Gray's head snapped toward her in shock.

Lucy proceeded to tell Gray everything that Natsu told her, and how confused she was now feeling.

Gray could feel jealousy stir within him. "I'll find him a place to stay, don't worry."

"N-No! It's okay. Natsu has gone through a lot as it is."

"Has he told you about his past?"

Lucy nodded solemnly.

Gray leaned back on the bench and sighed. "There are so many of us who have had fucked up lives. For me, my parents were murdered in front of my eyes when I was five. Lyon's parents couldn't take care of him anymore, so our aunt ended up taking both of us in. She lived up in the mountains where the cold is unbelievable, but she taught us how to bear it. Six years later, an avalanche got to her and she died. Lyon and I have been staying here in Magnolia ever since."

Lucy sat in stunned silence. She did not expect Gray to open up to her like that. She scooted closer to him on the bench after noticing that he was shaking. "Gray…" she whispered as she draped her arm around him. "I…I don't know what to say…"

"You don't need to say anything."

Lucy pulled Gray in and embraced him as he continued to tremble.

"Thank you for listening," he whispered as he pulled away. "I'll escort you home." He took his bag, which Lucy noticed was full of groceries, and stood up.

Lucy waved goodbye as she watched Gray disappear around the corner. The snow was falling much faster now. Lucy turned and entered her home to see that Gajeel and Levy have already gone home. She heard footsteps upstairs and decided to go check up on Natsu.

His room was wide open, and Lucy saw that the floor was now clean. Curious, she walked inside to find Natsu packing his things into his large bag.

"What are you doing?" she questioned worriedly.

"I'm leaving."

"Why?"

Natsu stopped what he was doing and faced Lucy. Puzzled, he asked, "What do you mean, _why?_ You were going to kick me out, so I'm saving you the trouble."

"Wait…_what_? I wasn't going to kick you out. The thought never even crossed my mind!"

Natsu continued to pack, slower this time. Lucy, irritated, stomped over to him and snatched his shirt out of his hand and threw it back in his dresser. "_Stay_," she commanded. "It's snowing outside, you have nowhere else to go, and I have no problem with you being here. Okay?"

Natsu looked down at Lucy's pouted lips and then looked away, embarrassed. "Okay, I'll stay. Thank you."

The next morning, Lucy cooked a hearty breakfast to make up for the negative atmosphere the previous night. Natsu, of course, stuffed his face. Lucy headed out first, but then waited for Natsu a couple blocks away.

"I wanted to walk together," she said with a bright smile. Natsu flushed scarlet as he proceeded to walk next to her.

When they got to the school gates, Lucy noticed Cana slumped on the ground beneath the large tree. "I'll see you in class," said Lucy to Natsu before heading off.

Cana looked up when a shadow formed in front of her. When she saw Lucy, she regained her composure and said, "Hey, what's up?"

"That's what I should be asking you. Why do you look so down?"

Cana sighed. "It's a long and complicated story. Actually, I'm would be pretty comfortable with telling you, but I don't know…"

Lucy sat down next to her. "We have a while until class starts. I can lend an ear if you want."

Cana smiled. "Alright. I trust you, Lucy." She sighed deeply before speaking again. "Gildarts is actually my father."

Lucy blinked twice. "I'm sorry…come again?"

"I'm his daughter, but he doesn't know."

"Wait…_what? Why not?_"

"I came to Magnolia after my mother passed, and on her death bed she told me about my father. When I arrived, Makarov helped me settle into a temporary home. I've tried to tell Gildarts, but when I opened my mouth to speak, he was in a hurry to go somewhere. I've been too shy to confront him about it ever since. I kept promising myself that I would tell him if I get in the top one-hundred on the national exam, but I've failed every time. So if I fail next year, then I've made up my mind. I'm going to move away."

The two girls stayed silent as they watched the crowd of students enter into the building. When the warning bell rang, Lucy took Cana's hand, smiled and said, "Don't worry, Cana! I'll help you study for the exams! I won't let you fail again!"

Cana looked at her with teary eyes. She gave Lucy a small smile and whispered, "Thank you."

Back in class, Natsu paced back and forth at the back of the room.

"For fuck's sake, Natsu," Gildarts complained as he lounged on his chair with his feet up on the desk. "Will you sit down? You're giving people anxiety."

Lucy and Cana entered the room just before the bell to start class rang.

Gildarts stood up and looked at the two girls with a stern expression. "Get to your seats, girls! You two were almost late!"

"S-Sorry," said Cana quietly as she folded her arms across her chest and took her seat.

When Natsu saw Lucy, relief flooded his face and he finally sat down. "I was getting worried," said Natsu as Lucy took her seat next to him.

"You can't keep worrying about me all the time, Natsu," said Lucy with a roll of her eyes. She sighed deeply, remembering her talk with Cana.

Natsu didn't press the issue further when he saw that his friend was in distress.

Lucy couldn't help but look at Cana as she stared at Gildarts like a lost child. _How could he not realize? _She thought as she bit her pencil's eraser. _Granted they don't look like each other, but still!_

After school, Natsu looked at his text messages and saw that a couple of them were from Lisanna, asking for assistance with basketball practice.

"Ready to go home?" asked Lucy as she grabbed her bag from the side of the desk.

"Sorry," Natsu said. "I need to help Lisanna with her basketball practice since her other friends have stuff to do. I'll be back home soon, okay?"

Lucy nodded her head and forced a smile. "Okay then. I'll see you later!"

Lucy walked on her own since everyone else had their own thing going on. Even Levy, who was normally up for walking home with her friend, had an after school activity.

Once she passed the gates, she noticed a man in black clad walking in her direction. He wore a long black coat with black boots. His eyes were casted downward and his lips were bent into a deep frown. His black, shaggy hair swished back and forth as he walked. Yet, he looked young and handsome, and could possibly be mistaken for a high school student.

Once the two got closer, the man looked up at Lucy. "Excuse me," he started. They both stopped by each other, shoulder to shoulder.

"Y-Yes?" questioned Lucy, feeling a little bit uneasy.

"Do you happen to know a boy named Natsu? He goes to this school and he has spiky pink hair."

_Natsu?_ Lucy thought. "Y-Yeah…why?"

"How is he? Is he doing well?"

"I guess…I'm pretty sure he's in the gym right now if you want to talk to him."

"No, thank you. I'm actually here to speak with the nurse."

_Mavis?_

The mysterious man gave Lucy a small smile and said, "Thank you for your time. What is your name?"

"L-Lucy."

"I'm Zeref. It was a pleasure to meet you."

Zeref continued making his way towards the school, leaving Lucy to wonder, _Who the hell is that guy?_

She turned to continue walking when she bumped into someone. She jumped back, surprised. She looked up and saw two men. The one that she bumped into had spiky blond hair, and also harbored a long scar on his left eyebrow. He wore a brown sweatshirt with a bee on it over his uniform shirt.

The second man, like Zeref, was in all black. He wore a black sweatshirt with the hood covering his head. He had a mop of black hair, with bangs covering his right eye. There was also a brutal scar covering the bridge of his nose, making his piercing gaze look more menacing.

The blond looked Lucy up and down before giving her a large grin. "Hey there!" he started. "What's your name?"

_What is with people today? _Lucy was irritated, but she tried her best not to show it. She smiled back and said, "My name is Lucy! And yours?"

"I'm Sting, and this is my friend, Rogue. We're transfer students here."

"Oh? You guys must have come from New Magnolia then!"

Sting got closer to Lucy and took her hand. "You're right, and I'm new here. Would you mind showing me around?"

Rogue grunted in disgust before pulling his friend away. "I apologize for his behavior," he said. "But we have somewhere to be."

"Bye, Lucy!" called Sting before taking off.

Lucy shook her head in disbelief. "Can I go home now?" she asked herself. She continued on her way, but by the time she got close to the square, she saw one familiar face and a new one.

It was Sherry, and she was talking to a guy wearing Fairy Tail's uniform. He had ebony skin and dark hair. His dark eyes flashed with lust as he stared at Sherry. He took her hand and gently pressed his lips against it, causing the female to blush scarlet.

Lucy narrowed her eyes. _Isn't she dating Lyon?_ She thought. She recalled the time that Juvia broke up with him because she fell in love with another man. "Hey!" she called out. Sherry and the man looked at her in surprise. "Just what do you think you're doing, Sherry?"

"Excuse me?" asked the pinkette.

Lucy crossed her arms. "You're dating Lyon, and here you are, flirting with another guy! Do you have any idea what he's been through?"

Sherry scowled. "Of course I know. Lyon broke up with me the other day because he said that he didn't feel the same way. Ren, on the other hand…" she looked over at the man next to her and smiled. "Even though we just recently met, I feel a connection stronger than I had with Lyon."

Lucy stared as the two rubbed noses. Feeling awkward, she hurried home, hoping to avoid any more contact with people.

After slamming her front door shut, Lucy leaned against it, closed her eyes, and sighed. "What a day…" she said to herself.

"Welcome home!"

Lucy's eyes snapped open. In the living room, Cana sat on the floor with her legs crossed. There was a cluster of notebooks and textbooks open in front of her.

Lucy looked at her, speechless. Before she could open her mouth to question Cana, she was interrupted.

"Sorry about showing up unexpected," said the brunette as she scratched the back of her head nervously. "But I couldn't wait. Even though the test is a month away, I need as much help as I can get!" She rested her head on the floor and groveled. "Please, Lucy!"

Lucy's mouth was open, unsure of where to start. She decided to go with, "How the hell did you even get into my house?"

Cana got up and smiled deviously. "I'm a professional lock-picker."

"How did you even _find_ my house?"

"I went through Gildart's student files," shrugged Cana. "It wasn't hard. So will you help me?"

Lucy sighed. "I promised I would help you…so I will."

Cana threw her fists into the air and shouted, "_Yes!_ Thank you, Lucy!"

The two got into studying right away, starting with Cana's weakest subject, English. Lucy promised herself that she wouldn't let Cana slack off so much, since she wanted to help reunite father and daughter.

Cana sat up straight and lifted her arms in the air to stretch. "We've been at it for an hour. Time for booze!"

"No!" scolded Lucy. Cana looked at her in shock. "Continue studying. I'll get some snacks, okay?"

Cana grunted like a child but did as she was told. The two spent the rest of their evening studying, and they both passed out at the same time.

Natsu walked home after a long evening of practice. He even bought Lisanna some food for a job well done.

_I hope Luce got home safe…_ he thought. He took out his phone and was about to text Lucy when he decided otherwise. He sighed and stuffed his phone back into his pocket. _I'm such an idiot._

"I'm home!" he called as he shut the front door behind him and took off his shoes. He walked into the living room and found Cana and Lucy dead asleep on the floor. Happy was curled into a small ball next to Lucy.

"What the hell happened here?" he questioned as he looked at all the books and notebooks scattered around the floor. He looked over at Lucy and examined her sleeping face. His eyes casted back down to her lips.

He looked away, face reddened.

_Don't fuckin' do it, Natsu!_ He told himself. He headed upstairs, hoping to get rid of his temptation.

* * *

_**Do it, Natsu!**_

**I've been thinking... since I missed NaLu week this year, I think I'm just going to do it anyways. I'm still so pissed about that! .**

**Guys, I just want to let you know...growing up sucks.**

**That is all.**


	17. Christmas Shopping

**Story has been updated! You're welcome!**

**And thank you for all the positive feedback!**

* * *

_**Previously on Bruises on My Heart**_

_He looked away, face reddened._

Don't fuckin' do it, Natsu!_ He told himself. He headed upstairs, hoping to get rid of his temptation._

* * *

Lucy woke up to her phone ringing underneath her pillow. She pulled it out and looked at the caller I.D. It was Levy. Lucy quickly answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, Luce! Are you free to go Christmas shopping with me today?"

"Y-Yeah! Sure!"

"Great! I'll be over in an hour. Bye!"

Lucy quickly got up and got ready. She walked out and went up to Natsu's door. After knocking on it a few times and getting no response, she slowly opened it and peeked inside.

It was once again messy, with clothes scattering the floor. Natsu was sprawled out on his bed. His mouth was wide open and he was drooling.

_He's been taking a lot of shifts at work,_ thought Lucy. She bit her lip. _Is he trying to avoid me after what happened?_

Lucy wrote him a note stating that she was going shopping with Levy and then left it on the kitchen table. She fed Happy and then grabbed her brown coat and waited for Levy to knock on the door. Not even five minutes later, Levy made her appearance.

"Ready to go?" asked Levy cheerfully once the door swung open.

Lucy stuffed her feet into her long brown boots and then shrugged her coat on. "Yeah, let's go!"

The two girls walked towards the shop together. The snow was piling up, and the temperature was dropping more and more. Lucy looked up at the bright white sky and breathed out as she watched her breath form in front of her.

"I'm so nervous for the ball," stated Levy as she kicked some snow in front of her. "I'm afraid that I won't get asked out. "

Lucy smiled. "What about Gajeel? I think he might ask you out since you guys are pretty close."

Levy blushed. "Well…Gajeel doesn't do those kinds of things…"

"So why don't you ask him?"

"B-Because…I don't know…"

"I don't know if I asked you this already, but how did you and Gajeel meet?"

"He was at the old school that I went to. You know, the one that I was pulled out of because I was being bullied? Well, Gajeel was what I liked to call the "leader" of the bullies. There were many times where he made me cry."

"_What? _Gajeel _bullied_ you? What the hell changed?"

"After I was pulled out, I guess he realized that what he did was wrong. You could imagine his surprise when he found out that I was his new neighbor after moving into the apartments! He apologized, and then he eventually got to meet my dads. He apologized to them too, and he's been a good friend to me ever since."

"Wow…I would have never guessed he was that kind of guy…"

"Well, he did go through a lot of stuff too. I know he's already told you about it."

The girls arrived at the shops, packed with people doing Christmas shopping. They looked through window after window, until Lucy finally realized that she had no idea what the hell she wanted to get everyone. She started to make a mental list, but she couldn't think of anything when she questioned what she would get Natsu.

"Do you think Natsu would like it if I knit him a scarf?" asked Lucy.

Levy shook her head. "He never parts with his scarf. I'm sure he'd appreciate it, but I doubt he would wear it."

"Then I really don't know what I would get him…What are you going to get Gajeel?"

"Some gages he's been having his eye on for a while."

The two girls passed by a jewelry store. Lucy did a double take before deciding to walk in and browse.

"Are you going to get Virgo something?" asked Levy as she looked at the display case, eying the rings.

"Of course. I was thinking of getting her a necklace."

A short old man from behind the counter approached them with a large, I-don't-want-to-be-here-right-now smile. "May I help you beautiful ladies?"

"Yes, actually. Do you have a necklace with the shape of the Virgo sign from the zodiac?" inquired Lucy.

The old man disappeared for a short time before bringing back a few black boxes. He opened them, revealing a pendant in each. They were all in the shape of the Virgo sign, but the one that caught Lucy's attention the most was the one with the diamond accent. The pendant looked like it could have been written in cursive.

"This one will do," said Lucy, pointing to the one that caught her eye.

"Good choice," said the man.

"Aren't you going to ask for the price or something?" questioned Levy, stunned that Lucy even had enough money to afford something like that.

"Money isn't an issue with me," said Lucy solemnly. "Comes in handy, but money is ultimately evil."

"Is there anything else that I can get you?" asked the man, happy that he had now acquired a rich customer.

"Um…" started Lucy, pondering what she was going to say. "Since I'm here…what are your opinions on getting a male jewelry?"

"It's Natsu," said Levy.

"Oh, Natsu?" asked the man. "I know the kid. I go to his work to eat all the time. You want to give him some jewelry too?"

Lucy blushed. "Well… I really don't know what else to get him. I'm out of options here."

"How about…" started the man. "I can make a custom necklace. I think what would be cool for him would be an obsidian dragon tooth necklace with a silver dragon wrapped around it."

"You could do something like that in a short amount of time?" questioned Levy, astonished.

The man looked over at Lucy and smirked. "For a hefty price, that is."

"Deal," stated Lucy, handing over her card.

After spending hours of shopping, the only person that Lucy didn't have anything for was Levy. "Hey, I'm going to get your gift. Let's meet up by the fountain, okay?"

Levy nodded. "Great! I was going to ask you the same thing. See you soon!"

The two girls headed off in opposite directions. Lucy walked into the book store, remembering the time that Levy said that she wanted an E-reader. She purchased the best one that she could find and was about to head out to the square when she bumped into Gajeel.

"Hey, Gajeel!" exclaimed Lucy. "Are you Christmas shopping too?"

Gajeel nodded his head. "Did you get something for Levy or whatever?"

"I got her an E-reader."

"Dammit, Lucy!" he cursed. "I was going to buy her that!"

Lucy laughed. "I can give it to you to give it to her if you want."

"No thanks. I want to get her something that I bought with my own money. Now I don't know what to get her…"

"I'm sure she would be fine with anything you give her. But, she has been telling me that she's been wanting new dresses. You can start there."

Gajeel pondered over the thought for a moment. "Alright, I'll see what I can find. Thank you, Luce!" Gajeel headed off in a hurry.

"What took you so long?" questioned Levy. She was holding a new bag in her hand.

"The line was pretty long," lied Lucy.

As the two were walking back home together, Levy glanced over at Lucy and suddenly asked, "Do you love Natsu?"

Lucy looked at her, bewildered. "_What?_ Wh-Where did that come from?"

"It's just that…it's pretty obvious he likes you. Gray too."

"_Gray?_"

Levy laughed. "Man, you're almost as dense as Natsu! I see the look that you give him from time to time."

"What look?"

"The _look_."

_That really doesn't explain anything,_ thought Lucy, giving up on the conversation. She thought back to her kiss with Natsu and blushed.

"Are you going to go to the winter ball with him?" continued Levy.

"I-I don't know…nobody has asked me, and I'm not sure I want to go."

"You _have _to go. Oh! I have to go this way, so I'll see you at school tomorrow," said Levy as she was about to turn a different way.

"See you!" called Lucy. When she got home, she noticed that her note was replaced with another one. Lucy had trouble deciphering Natsu's terrible handwriting, but she eventually figured out that it said he was out shopping for Christmas presents as well.

The next day at school, Cana approached Lucy before homeroom started and asked if she could come over to study again.

"It's no problem," replied Lucy. "Just no booze, okay?"

Cana laughed. "Alright, alright."

During lunch, Lisanna came over to the classroom and pulled Natsu aside. She looked around nervously, hoping that no one was looking at them.

"What is it?" asked Natsu.

"Well…" Lisanna started to play with her fingers. "I understand what you told me, but…could you go to the winter ball with me? I promise I won't ask anything else of you…I just really want to pretend, for just one night, you said yes to me." Tear started to stream down her cheeks. "Please, Natsu. Just one more time."

Natsu's heart weakened. He couldn't stand it when girls cry, for it made him feel sad as well. He wiped Lisanna's tears away and said, "Alright. One more time."

After Lisanna left, Natsu started to head back to the classroom when Gray stopped him. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Why the _hell_ did you say yes to Lisanna?"

Natsu scowled. "That is none of your business, Gray."

"If you are going to go to the fucking ball with her, I'm going to ask Lucy."

Natsu pushed Gray and said, "Fuck you! You already won the best couple competition with her, so why are you going to ask her to the ball?"

At this point, students started to come over to see what all the noise was about.

"Because I _like _her, flame-brain!" replied Gray, pushing Natsu back as well. Ignoring more of Natsu's threats, he stomped back into the classroom. He walked up to Lucy and asked, "I know I keep asking a lot out of you, but will you go to the ball with me?"

Multiple girls in the room gasped before breaking into gossip. Lucy was stunned, but then looked over at Natsu who just entered the room. He looked like he was mad, but fumed even more so when he noticed Gray talking to Lucy.

Gray looked over at Natsu and then back at Lucy. "He's going with Lisanna."

Lucy's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. _But didn't he just tell me that he liked me and didn't having feeling for Lisanna? Was he just leading me on? What the _fuck_ is going on? _She thought. She looked up at Gray. "I would be happy to go to the ball with you."

Natsu kicked the wall before walking out of the room once more.

By the end of the day, the whole school was talking about the feud between Gray and Natsu. Word was being spread that Gray and Lucy were now secretly dating. Juvia paid no mind to the rumors, even though her friends kept throwing it back in her face.

Besides the fact that people were suspecting Gray and Lucy were going out, people were now starting to think that Natsu was dating Lisanna. She told everyone who asked her that she really wasn't, but they all insisted that they actually were since they were going to the ball together.

As Cana and Lucy were walking home, Lucy told her companion the story of how Natsu ended up staying at her place.

"I've actually heard about this rumor," said Cana, "but I never would have thought that it was actually true. Where was he when I came over?"

"He was busy helping Lisanna with basketball."

"Isn't it weird though? I mean, living with Natsu. He obviously likes you and all…so do you guys ever, you know…"

"What?"

Cana gave her a flirtatious wink, causing Lucy to realize what she meant. Her face flushed red in embarrassment and she stuttered, "N-N-No! Absolutely _not!_"

Cana sighed. "You guys are no fun. So, how do you feel about him going to the ball with Lisanna? I'm surprised that he didn't ask you."

Lucy narrowed her eyes in frustration. "I don't give a damn anymore. He can go to the stupid ball with Lisanna. He told me that he was only her friend, and then he _kissed_ me."

Cana scoffed. "I would have never guessed that Natsu could be _that_ much of an asshole!"

They arrived back at Lucy's house where they immediately got down to business. They went through notebook after notebook, highlighting important things.

Eventually, Cana sighed and said, "I'm really scared. I really want to pass this test, but as you can see, I'm not the brightest light bulb."

Lucy smiled. "You just need to be tweaked a little before you shine brightly. I know you'll do well on this exam, Cana."

As the sun started to fall, Cana fell asleep as Lucy was trying to help her with math. Smiling, Lucy got up, grabbed a blanket, and then draped it over her friend's body.

Natsu came into the house. Seeing him, Lucy walked upstairs and headed into her room. She was fuming with anger, but she didn't have the heart to yell at him. She sat on her bed, clutching her head in her hands.

Her door creaked open. When Lucy looked up, she watched as Natsu walked in and closed the door behind him.

"Look," he started. "I want to talk to you about-"

"_I don't care_," interrupted Lucy. "You don't need to explain! Just go to the ball with Lisanna since you like her so much!"

"But-"

"_Get out of my room!_"

"Let me expl-"

Lucy grabbed one of her throw pillows and threw it at Natsu's face. He caught it effortlessly and then threw it to the side. He looked at his target with serious eyes.

Lucy started to feel threatened as he looked at him, and started to scoot back on her bed once Natsu started to walk towards her.

"Lucy," Natsu started. "I wanted to go to the ball with you, but Lisanna asked to go with me as a last request. Nothing more."

"So why-"

"_Will you shut up for a moment_," snapped Natsu. He got on Lucy's bed and crawled on top of her, causing her to fall back on the bed. She could smell the scent of his musky cologne that she secretly loved.

Lucy was trapped, and all she could do was look into Natsu's dark eyes.

"I was angry when you said yes to Gray," Natsu said.

Lucy scoffed. "Well, at least you knew how I felt."

Natsu leaned in and pressed his lips softly against Lucy's. As he slowly started to pull away, Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back down. She felt his warm lips back and she slightly moaned out of happiness. Lucy felt Natsu deepen the kiss, so she started to play with his hair. Despite it looking spiky, it was soft. She continued to melt beneath him as they kissed passionately.

The two lost track of time, and only stopped once Natsu's stomach growled. The two sat up. Both had messy hair and were out of breath.

Lucy looked over at Natsu and grinned. "You hungry?"

Natsu laughed nervously. "Yeah, sorry about that. I haven't eaten anything since lunch."

"It's no worries. I'll make something for us and Cana to eat." Lucy got up to go downstairs, but once she got to the door, she stopped, turned around, and then went back to Natsu. She leaned down and quickly kissed him before retreating.

Natsu fell back onto the bed with a huge smile on his face.

* * *

**D'aaawwww!**

**I miss having a bae now D:**


	18. Familiar

**This is going to be a short chapter, but I hope you don't mind. I'll make up for it in the next one ^^**

* * *

_**Previously on Bruises on My Heart:**_

_"It's no worries. I'll make something for us and Cana to eat." Lucy got up to go downstairs, but once she got to the door, she stopped, turned around, and then went back to Natsu. She leaned down and quickly kissed him before retreating._

_Natsu fell back onto the bed with a huge smile on his face._

* * *

Levy fastened her bandana on her head and then smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She was ready to start another day of school, but she was still bummed about Gajeel moving. It has been a while since it happened, but she missed walking to and from school with him.

Levy's parents have already left for work, so she spent most of her morning's home alone. After finishing her breakfast, she grabbed her bag and was about to head to the door when someone rang the doorbell. Levy opened it.

It was Gajeel.

"Gajeel?" questioned Levy as she stepped aside to let him in. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to walk to school with you, shorty," he replied as he walked inside. He looked away with a blush. "And…I also wanted to ask you something."

Levy held her breath. He wasn't acting normally.

Gajeel looked at her and asked, "Will you be my date to the winter ball?"

Levy smiled widely, ignoring the heat coming off of her face. "Gladly." She grabbed his arm and pulled him down. Gajeel bent down and smiled when Levy kissed his cheek.

"Let's walk to school together," said Levy as she started to walk back to the door.

Lucy opened the door when she heard the knocks. The delivery man handed her a box and then left.

"What is it?" asked Natsu after pouring cat food into Happy's bowl.

"It's from Virgo," started Lucy with a smile. "She called me earlier saying that she sent me a dress for the ball."

"I bet you'll be the prettiest girl there. Unfortunately, you're going with that ice prick…"

Lucy kissed his cheek. "Unfortunately, you asked Lisanna first. That is your own fault." She went up to her room and set the box on the floor, planning on opening it the day of the ball.

Natsu crept up behind her and held her in an embrace.

"N-Natsu!" stuttered Lucy. "We have to go to school!"

"I don't want to let go of you," whispered Natsu into Lucy's hair.

At school, Lucy overheard a conversation between the guy she saw with Sherry and another guy she has never seen before.

"Hey, Hibiki," started Ren. "I heard you were asked to the ball."

"Yeah," replied Hibiki as he flipped his hair. "By that cutie Juvia."

_Juvia?_ Questioned Lucy. _I know she isn't okay with this…I just hope she isn't going to do anything too rash…_ She remembered the time when she let Leon kiss her and shuddered as she walked into the classroom.

After school, the Fairy Tail Guild met up at the clubroom where they discussed minor details for the winter ball. Lucy sat with Erza, Mirajane, and Levy.

"So you're going with Gray, huh?" inquired Erza, looking towards Lucy.

"Y-Yeah," Lucy responded. "Are you going with anyone?"

Erza's face heated up. "A-Actually…"

Mirajane interrupted by throwing her arm around Erza's shoulders. "We convinced our boyfriends to attend the ball with us!"

Natsu scoffed from the other side of the room. "You mean Laxus is coming? Great."

Mirajane looked over her shoulder. "Natsu, why are you even listening to our conversation?"

Natsu looked over at Lucy, blushed, and looked away. "Sorry," he mumbled before going back to talking with Elfman and Gray.

"We should have our own after party!" announced Cana, standing on top of her desk. Juvia looked up at her, and then was noticeably fixated on Cana's panties.

"Yeah!" exclaimed Evergreen. "Let's do karaoke!"

"I second that!" said Elfman.

"Alright," started Erza. "If we all chip in, we could actually make this a pretty good after party."

Everyone cheered, excited for the ball and the post-party.

"It's going to be a night to remember!" exclaimed Levy, glancing over at Gajeel who happened to be staring at her.

Back at Lucy's, Natsu went upstairs to get ready for work, came back down shortly later in his uniform, said goodbye to Lucy and Cana, and then left.

Cana slumped onto the couch and sighed.

"What's wrong?" asked Lucy, sitting next to her friend.

"It's just that…" started Cana as she stared up at the ceiling. "Everyone's got a date for the ball but me… you're going with Gray, Levy's going with Gajeel, and Loke finally got the balls to ask Aries to the dance. And here I am. Single."

"A date isn't required for the dance, Cana," comforted Lucy. "You will have friends there! No one is going to leave you alone by yourself."

Cana rolled her eyes. "Except when a slow song come on."

"Do you have anyone you're interested in that you might want to ask?"

The brunette blushed. "N-No! Of course not. I am a free woman. No man is clouding my mind!"

Lucy smirked. "There's obviously someone on your mind."

"Well…there is this guy that I still see from time to time. He doesn't go to our school because he's been living in New Magnolia since five years ago. I've known him since I first got here, but he considers me as one of the guys…"

"What's his name?"

"Bacchus Groh…but let's start studying. I feel like I've almost got that one math equation down."

Lucy pouted, disappointed that she wasn't going to hear more, but then she brought her books out of her bag and proceeded to tutor Cana.

Natsu arrived home four hours later looking like a mess. His shirt had remnants of food and his hair seemed off. "Family night," he said with a frown as he walked towards the stairs. "I'm going to take a quick bath."

"Looks like it's time for me to leave," said Cana, packing up her things. "You two lovebirds have fun." She winked at Lucy and showed herself to the door.

As Lucy was cooking dinner, Natsu came up behind her and kissed her neck. With a surprised squeal, Lucy turned around, almost knocking the skillet off of the stove. "_Natsu!_" she scolded, though her face was bright red.

"What did I do?" asked Natsu innocently. He smiled at Lucy's angry face, grabbed her waist, and then pulled her close.

"I-I'm cooking!" Lucy cried.

Ignoring her, Natsu bent down and kissed Lucy's neck once again. Lucy could feel herself melting in his arms. She closed her eyes, feeling the sensation of Natsu's lips against her sensitive neck.

_He smells so good..._ Lucy thought.

Then she started to feel something weird.

Lucy's eyes snapped open when she realized what Natsu was doing. She untangled herself from him, careful not to touch the hot stove or skillet. She covered her neck with her hand and looked at her partner with wide eyes.

Natsu chuckled. "I can't wait for Gray to see that when you two go to the ball together."

Lucy's face turned red with anger. "_You gave me a fucking hickey! _What are people going to think when they see it?"

"It's not that big. You can just cover it with your hair."

Lucy sighed, giving up. She looked up at Natsu who fashioned his signature goofy grin. A small smile appeared on Lucy's face. "You're an idiot," she said before going back to her cooking.

The following day during homeroom, Gray and Natsu had one of their regular battles. At this point, Lucy, who was carefully hiding her love mark with her hair, was finding this disturbingly normal.

Except for when Gray randomly took his clothes off. She turned away with a blush when the raven haired man stripped his shirt off, revealing his muscular upper torso.

Multiple girls in the room squealed.

"_Put your shirt back on!_" yelled Gildarts and Natsu in unison.

Gray looked down, questioned what happened, and then continued fighting with Natsu after quickly buttoning his shirt back up.

"_You guys have some nerve interrupting my lecture!"_ cried Gildarts, slamming his palm onto his desk. The wood cracked a bit. "_Shit_. Not again!"

Natsu tripped over someone's foot just as Gray was pulling his fist back for a punch. He aimed for Natsu's stomach, but hit his face instead. Natsu's jaw hit a desk as he fell onto the ground.

"_Natsu!_" cried Lucy as she started to get up to assist him.

"It's okay!" said Natsu quickly. He slowly got up.

Levy looked at him worriedly. "Um…Natsu? I think you should probably go down to see Mavis…"

The pink haired male noticed all the blood gushing from his nose. He quickly removed his scarf to prevent any blood from getting on it. One of the students quickly handed him a handkerchief.

"Levy's right. You should go down there," started Gildarts. "Gray, you go to the bathroom to get some paper towels to clean up the blood."

The two boys left the room.

"Hey," said Gray before leaving in a different direction. "Sorry about your nose."

"Whatever, don't worry about it," replied Natsu. The handkerchief he had pressed against his nose was soaked in blood.

Natsu walked down the stairs and approached Mavis's room. He knocked on the door twice with his foot, trying to be careful to not get blood on the bright white door.

Mavis opens the door, looked up at Natsu, and sighed. "Again?" she questioned, letting him in.

"It's just a bloody nose! Do I really need to be here?" complained Natsu, stepping inside. He followed Mavis to the beds and sat on one.

"Is it still bleeding?" asked Mavis, getting a wet cloth ready.

Natsu took the bloody handkerchief away from his face and looked at it. There was so much blood that he wasn't sure if any of it was fresh. "Um…Maybe?"

Mavis approached him and looked closely at his face.

"He'll be fine," came a deep voice. "Though it looks like he's going to have a bruise on his chin." A figure stepped into view from behind Mavis.

Natsu looked up at him. Black shaggy hair, black eyes, black clothes, and pale skin. "Who are you?" He questioned as Mavis cleaned his face.

"My name is Zeref," replied the man. "And...you must be Natsu."

Natsu narrowed his eyes. "How do you know about me?"

Zeref smiled. "I might have heard about you before. You're pretty infamous around these parts. A reckless, pink-haired male student. You don't see those every day."

"Okay," started Mavis with a nervous chuckle. "You're all good to go. Just be careful not to get punched in the face again, okay?"

Natsu didn't respond as he kept on staring at Zeref, who in turn stared back.

"You better go back to class," said Zeref finally.

With a huff, Natsu jumped off the bed.

Zeref's eyes were fixed on the scar on Natsu's neck.

Noticing this, Natsu quickly wrapped his scarf back on. "It's a scar. Get over it." As he was walking up the stairs to go back to class, Natsu couldn't help but think…

_Where the fuck have I seen this guy before?_

* * *

**I reeeaaallly want to see more NaLu in the manga. It's driving me nuts T_T**

**I can't wait to get started on the next chapter! It's going to be *Censored because no spoilers* ! **

I


	19. The Winter Ball

**Hello readers! Thank you so much for all the faves and reviews! *Sends out virtual hugs***

**Here's the longer chapter like I promised :)**

* * *

**_Previously on Bruises on My Heart..._**

_Zeref's eyes were fixed on the scar on Natsu's neck._

_Noticing this, Natsu quickly wrapped his scarf back on. "It's a scar. Get over it." As he was walking up the stairs to go back to class, Natsu couldn't help but think…_

Where the fuck have I seen this guy before?

* * *

_Today is the day_, Lucy thought the moment she woke up from her deep slumber. _Today is the day of the ball._

Her and Levy already made a plan that they would get ready at Levy's and then the boys would pick them up.

Lucy made her way downstairs and started to cook a couple omelets for her and Natsu who was still sound asleep. When the food was on the table and the cat was fed, Lucy headed upstairs to wake up her male companion.

"_Natsu_," Lucy whispered as she gently shook him. "_Natsu, wake up! I made breakfast!"_

Natsu groaned and turned away from her as he pulled his bed sheets over his head. "Five more minutes…" he groaned.

Lucy walked to the foot of his bed and yanked the sheets away, only to blush. Natsu was only in his dark blue boxers.

"_Gah!_" Natsu cried. "_It's cold!_" He tried reaching for the sheets but they were now crumpled on the floor.

"Th-Then you better get dressed and go downstairs! I made breakfast." Lucy had to force herself to look away from Natsu's muscular body. _When does he find the time to work out so much?_ She asked herself. She went back downstairs and sat at the table.

Natsu came down with a black blanket draped over him, causing Lucy to roll her eyes.

"So, you're heading to Levy's?" asked Natsu, noticing Lucy's attire. She wore a red long-sleeved shirt and dark blue jeans.

"Yeah, her dads said that they would help us get ready."

Natsu took a seat across from Lucy and eyed his omelet hungrily. "It looks delicious!" he announced before digging in.

Lucy was getting used to Natsu's eating habits, and she didn't mind. She was happy that he enjoyed her food. "Don't forget that we have to go help set up the gym. We need to be there in half an hour so you need to get ready fast."

"All I need to do is throw my clothes on, Luce." After quickly finishing his plate, Natsu cleaned it and set it on the drying rack.

"Thank you, Natsu!" called Lucy from over her shoulder. She was only half done with her egg.

By the time Natsu came down stairs in his casual clothes, the two grabbed their jackets and headed out together.

"Oh, wow," commented Lucy. The snow piled up overnight, making Magnolia a winter wonderland. The snow glittered in the sunlight.

"We better get moving," ushered Natsu.

When they arrived at school, they saw a large truck parked outside the gymnasium. Workers, along with the Fairy Tail Guild, were helping to unload.

"Hey, Natsu!" called Gray as he helped Gajeel carry out a large, round table. "We could really use your help carrying this stuff!"

"I'll be right there!" called Natsu. He looked over at Lucy, smiled, and then took off.

"Lucy!" called Juvia. She was at the entrance to the gym and was waving her hand back and forth, trying to get the blonde's attention. "Come here!"

With a grin, Lucy jogged over with her long hair bouncing behind her. "Have you guys started on the decorations yet?" she asked when she approached. The two girls moved inside to let the men have more space to enter.

"Yes, but just barely," replied Juvia.

Inside, Lucy first saw Erza and Mirajane with clipboards in their hands, directing where the tables were to be placed. She saw Elfman with two other men, one with long green hair and another with blue and black hair, setting up speakers on stage.

"We got these really cool icicles that we're going to hang from the ceiling," started Juvia, excitement gleaming in her eyes. "They're clear with a light blue tint, but then they transition to red at the bottom!"

"That sounds really pretty!" commented Lucy. "Did you guys get the icicle chandelier?"

"That's coming in separately since it was too dangerous to put in the truck with all the other things. I can't wait for it though! We've got ice sculptures that are also coming in separately, but we got special lights so that it will look like it's on _fire_! Isn't it _amazing?_"

"I'm happy to see Juvia so excited!" exclaimed Lisanna. She looked over at Lucy and said, "She's been like this since the moment she's gotten here, and her excitement is contagious. I can't wait to see how this place turns out!"

"I'm sure it will be beautiful," Lucy said. She looked over at Natsu who was struggling with following Erza's directions. When she told him to move the table to the left, he would move it to the right.

After a few hours of setting up the place, the only things that were missing were the ice sculptures that would be coming in an hour before the ball started, and would be taken care of by the delivery men.

"We better go!" said Levy as she looked at her watch. She looked at Lucy and said, "My dads' friend is going to be at the house soon and he has a very tight schedule."

"Your dads' friend? Well, I need to run home really quick to pick up my dress. I'll meet you there, okay?" Lucy turned and started to run out the door.

"Hurry!" called Levy.

Lucy arrived home in record time, grabbed the unopened box, and ran out, bumping into Natsu in the process.

"Lucy!" he exclaimed, grabbing her by the shoulders.

"Wh-What?"

Natsu leaned forward and kissed her for a brief moment before pulling away and stepping aside. "I can't wait to see you tonight. Make sure Gray has a clear view of that hickey." He grinned deviously.

Lucy's face turned red. Instead of responding, she quickly left. Once she arrived at Levy's, she found her friend already waiting for her by the gate.

"He just arrived," said the blue-haired girl, grabbing onto Lucy's hand and leading her inside the house.

"Who?" questioned Lucy.

"Ah, there she is!" exclaimed Jet. Next to him were his husband and a new face. He had dark skin, and his dark hair was braided into dreads. He wore a blue button-up shirt and a gold chain.

"I'm glad you're finally here," said the man. He held his hand out to shake with Lucy. "My name is Cancer, and I will be styling your hair today. Levy's parents hired me for a private session."

"I-I'm Lucy," said the blonde as she quickly took Cancer's hand and shook it.

The two girls were ushered into the bathroom.

"First of all, we need to know what kind of dress you two girls are wearing," said Cancer as he got all of his equipment ready. "Droy will be working on make-up."

Levy ran up to her room and brought her dress down. It was light-blue with spaghetti straps. The end was shorter on her left leg where it ended above her knee, but then got longer on her right leg. "I'm wearing heels a shade darker than this," she said.

"Oh, my Levy is going to look so beautiful!" cried Jet as he hugged his daughter tightly.

"D-Dad! Stop! You're going to wrinkle the dress!"

Jet quickly pulled away. "Oh my gosh, you're right! I'm so sorry."

"Is your dress in the box?" questioned Cancer.

Lucy nodded her head. She set the box down on the bathroom counter and proceeded to tear it open. After pushing the cardboard flaps aside, she smiled.

_Virgo knew exactly what to get me_, Lucy thought as she pulled out the dress. It was strapless and floor length. The color was light blue like Levy's, but transitioned to red below the knees. Inside the box was a pair of red pumps.

"That dress is _gorgeous_," commented Droy as he picked the end of the dress up. "And the fabric is so soft!"

"Alright," started Cancer. "We need to get started."

Levy and Lucy put their dresses away and sat down on the chairs assigned to them in the large bathroom. Each girl was sitting in front of their own mirror.

Cancer stood behind Lucy as Droy started working on Levy's makeup.

"I'm thinking…" started Cancer as he played with Lucy's hair. "Since you have such slender shoulders and you're wearing a strapless, we should go for a curly up-do."

"My hair is in your hands, master," said Lucy.

Cancer got down to business and was expertly snipping away Lucy's hair. The young girl was almost frightened that he would cut her with how fast he was going, but Levy reassured her that he was the best hairdresser in all of Magnolia, both new and old.

After what seemed like ages, Cancer finished curling Lucy's hair and tied it up. He accessorized it with small, sparkly snowflake pins. "Nice hickey," commented Cancer with a slight chuckle. He said it soft enough so that only Lucy could hear.

Lucy's face turned bright red.

"It looks gorgeous!" exclaimed Levy, looking at her friend in the mirror.

"And you look so pretty!" Replied Lucy, looking back at her. Her lips were bright red, her cheeks were perfectly tinted pink, and she had a blue smoky eye look.

"It's time for you two to switch seats," said Jet as he set a tray of refreshments down. Lucy got up, took a sip of one, and then sat where Levy was.

"How about a simple wavy look?" asked Cancer to Levy as he pulled her orange bandana away.

Levy nodded her head. "Sure!"

As Levy was getting her hair done, Droy started on Lucy's face. "You have such beautiful skin," he commented as he added a layer of foundation on. "I'm going to give you the same look as Levy but with eyeliner, okay?"

Lucy, at one point, sneezed while Droy was doing her mascara, and was stabbed in the eye. Jet started freaking out, but Droy quickly fixed the problem. In short time, Lucy was finished.

She gasped when she looked at herself in the mirror. Lucy was never allowed to wear makeup since her dad disapproved, so for the first time in her life, she saw herself as a completely different person. She looked like her mom.

Noticing her eyes watering, Droy and Jet tried their best to calm her down.

"Your mascara will run!" exclaimed Jet frantically. "Hold it in!"

Lucy sniffed loudly and looked up at the ceiling, trying to retract the tears. A moment later, she looked back at her reflection and said, "Alright. I'm good now."

"And my job here is done," started Cancer as he began to pack up his things. "I've got to head back to the shop now. I hope you two have a wonderful time at the ball! And if anyone asks who did your hair, you know what to say."

Jet and Droy showed him to the door while the two girls stared at each other.

"We look _hot_," said Levy. Her hair cascaded down her back in gentle waves.

"Should we put our dresses on?" inquired Lucy as she started to stand from the chair.

"Yeah, just bring your dress to my room!"

Lucy grabbed the box and headed upstairs, tailing her friend. After closing the door, the girls proceeded to undress.

"I really hope I don't mess up my makeup…" said Levy to herself as she slowly slipped on her dress from her head.

Lucy stepped into hers since it was strapless. Looking down at her body as she pulled the dress up, her face reddened. It was still covered in scars, but she was more comfortable with changing in front of Levy. She felt guilty that, even though she considered the blue-haired girl her best friend, she still didn't know about Lucy's tragic past.

"Need help with zipping that up?" asked Levy after slipping on her heels.

"Y-Yes please."

Lucy turned her back, aware that she was giving Levy a clear view of all the other marks back there. She bit her lip for questioning, but didn't get any as she heard the zipper being brought up.

"There," said Levy with a smile. "Let's see how you look!"

Lucy slowly turned around, face still red. When she was on stage during the couple's competition, her dress revealed her marks, but the lighting made it so that the audience wouldn't be able to see them well. Now she was going to be close to people, and they would be able to see clearly.

"I don't know if I can do this…" Lucy whispered quietly. "I…I don't think…"

"Lucy," said Levy as she placed her hands on her friend's shoulders. "You look absolutely gorgeous. No one is going to say anything about your scars, okay? If they do, don't mind them. Just have fun with all of your friends."

Lucy stared into Levy's hazel eyes and said, "I'm so sorry I haven't told you…about why I have all these scars."

"I know that what happened wasn't good, and I don't want you to force yourself to tell me. I would love to know, but whenever you're ready is fine too."

Lucy smiled just Jet shouted from downstairs, "_They're here!_"

Lucy quickly slipped her red pumps on before following Levy out the door.

"Does this tux make me look fat?" asked Gajeel. He had his hair gelled back and in a spiky ponytail. Sitting across from him in the carriage was Gray.

His hair was also slicked back. "Dude, don't even go there."

"I'm a bit…nervous. There. I said it."

"What's there to be nervous about?"

"Don't bullshit me. We're going to the ball with two girls that we like."

Gray looked out the window, ignoring Gajeel. _If only it was me rooming with her instead…Then things would be different, _thought Gray.

The horses stopped, as did the carriage.

"This is it," said Gajeel with a sigh. "Let's go."

The two men jumped out and readjusted their ties. They went through the gate and approached the door. Before Gajeel could even ring the bell, Jet threw the door open.

"You're here!" He exclaimed, suddenly pulling Gajeel in for a hug. He looked over at Gray and then shook his hand. "You must be Gray! I'm Jet."

"Yes," Gray replied. "It's nice to meet you."

Jet led the two inside before calling the girls down. Droy came in running with a digital camera in hand. "Well don't you boys look handsome!" he said as he snapped a quick picture.

Heels were heard coming down the stairs. The four men looked up.

Lucy and Levy descended, both too shy to look over at their dates. Risking a glance, Lucy looked down at Gray and briefly paused. He was staring at her with such intensity that she had to do so. After a quick moment, Lucy continued down.

"You two look perfect," said Jet.

Droy took a picture of the girls posing at the bottom of the staircase. "Now let's get the boys in the picture! Come on now, don't be shy!"

Gajeel and Gray stood next to their partners, all four looking nervous.

"Y-You look really beautiful," started Gajeel, looking down at his partner.

"A-And you look really great too," responded Levy.

Droy sighed. "Are you serious? Come on men, grab her waist or _something_. You guys look like trees just standing stiffly like that. Don't make me have Jet pose you, because he will."

Jet cracked his knuckles and the boys quickly pulled their date close to them.

"You look really beautiful too, Lucy," said Gray quietly, a blush slowly appearing on his face.

Lucy smiled and looked up at him. "You look really handsome."

Gray blushed more.

"Alright!" began Droy. "3…2…1…"

As everyone settled into the carriage, Gray turned to Lucy and asked, "Did you know that we were nominated to be winter king and queen?"

"I didn't even realize we were doing that!" exclaimed Levy as Gajeel shut the door. "I thought I heard someone say it in the halls, but since we never really mentioned it in our meetings I thought we were just not going to do it!

"Wh-Wh-What?" stuttered Lucy. "We _were_?"

"Yeah," said Gray as he scratched the back of his head. "I just found that out before I came over here. Natsu and Lisanna were also nominated."

Levy shot him a look and Lucy looked down as she bit her lip.

_Lisanna and Natsu were nominated to be king and queen?_ She thought.

"What's that on your neck?" questioned Gajeel as he stared at the little bruise on Lucy's neck with squinted eyes.

"Is that…" started Levy, a grin slowly forming on her face.

Gray turned his head and saw the love mark up close. He felt his stomach drop, fully knowing what, or in this case who, caused it.

"I-I-I-It's nothing!" cried Lucy as she covered her neck with her hand. "It was probably from some bug bite or something!"

"If you say so," said Levy with a giggle. She gave her friend a wink when their gazes caught each other.

When they arrived at the gymnasium, Lucy could feel the ground shaking from the vibration of the music. The lights were flashing, and inside, she saw a large crowd of people dancing.

"Let's hurry and get a seat first," started Gray as he proceeded to walk inside. The rest of the group followed him, but Lucy couldn't help but notice that Levy was holding onto Gajeel's hand.

The four found an empty table surrounded by twelve chairs and they each took a seat. Lucy stared at the dance floor and observed the people dancing. Looking around, she noticed that Natsu and Lisanna were nowhere to be found.

She did notice two children who looked oddly familiar…_Hey! That's Wendy and Romeo!_ Thought Lucy after realizing that the two kids were there that rainy day when Happy ran away to be with a white cat.

Wendy was wearing a cute purple dress and her hair was tied up into a bun. Romeo was wearing a tux with a purple vest and his black hair was slicked back. The two kids stood by the wall, awkwardly looking around.

"Macao probably invited them," said Erza. Lucy looked up at her. She was in a tight fitted dark blue dress with black heels. Her bangs were away from her face, but her hair stayed cascaded down her back. Next to her was a tall man with shaggy blue hair with a red tattoo above and below his right eye.

"Hello," he started. "My name is Jellal."

"Ah!" started Lucy. "You must be Erza's boyfriend!"

Erza and Jellal flushed at the same time before quickly sitting down. Mirajane and another tall man approached the table.

"Hey, Laxus!" came the guy with long green hair Lucy saw earlier. He approached, still dancing. "It's been a while!"

"Yeah, yeah," said the gruff looking man. He had blond hair that was slicked back with pointy strands pointing back. He also had a frightening scar in the shape of a lightning bolt that started above his right eyebrow and ended near his jaw. "Go back to your date, Freed."

With a pout, Freed obeyed.

"This is my boyfriend, Laxus," said Mirajane with a large grin. She turned around after a few moments and whacked his arm.

"H-Hi!" he said quickly.

"Looks like Mirajane has you seriously whipped," said Gray with a smirk. The two were about to engage into combat when their dates stopped them.

"Where's that idiot Natsu? I'm waiting for him to fuck shit up again," questioned Laxus as he looked around.

_That's what I'd like to know_, wondered Lucy.

"It doesn't matter," said Gray as he got up. He held his hand out for Lucy and asked, "Shall we go dance?"

Lucy took his hand and he pulled her up. He didn't let go until they were at the edge of the dance floor. "I-I'm not really good at this kind of dancing," whimpered Lucy as she looked around at the people dancing freely. The beat was fast, and Lucy was only use to dancing to ballroom.

"The trick is not to think about it," said Gray. He started to move his body to the beat. "Come on, you try."

Lucy moved her hips back and forth, trying to follow the moves of the girl behind Gray.

"Don't think about it," reminded Gray. He took her hands in his, and Lucy was forced to look at him and no one else. She didn't even realize that she was dancing to the beat until many moments later. She grinned, enjoying herself. Gray smiled back.

The rest of their friends from the table came over and started to dance by them. Cana appeared in a short white and blue dress, and Lucy could help but smell alcohol when she approached.

"You were drinking again?" questioned Lucy.

"When is she not?" asked Gray with a roll of his eyes.

"It makes me more of a fun person!" cried Cana as she threw her arms up in the air and screamed, "_Whooo!_"

After two more upbeat songs, the music died down and was replaced with a slow love song. Lucy looked down and noticed that the crew started the smoke machines. Cana grunted in frustration and left. Lucy looked around and noticed that many people left the dance floor and couples came up, wrapping their arms around each other and swaying softly to the music.

"Hey," said Gray quietly. Lucy looked over at him with a blush. "Did you want to dance?"

Lucy nodded. Gray stepped close and held her waist as Lucy rested her hands on his shoulders. The two swayed gently as they slowly turned.

Cana leaned against the wall and watched all the couples dancing. Even Macao's son and his date were swaying to the music. "How will I ever find a husband," she muttered to herself. She felt the presence of a large man beside her, so she looked up and nearly fell down.

"G-Gildarts?" she stuttered, slowly inching away from him.

"I can't believe you came without a date!" he exclaimed with a chuckle. "I would think a beautiful young woman like you would be able to get a guy to take you out easily."

Cana blushed, unsure what to say.

Gildarts held his hand out. "Care to dance with me? I hope it's not too weird for you."

The brunette shook her head. "N-No. It's not weird…" She cautiously took her father's hand as he led her to the dance floor.

Gildarts placed his hands on Cana's waist while Cana extended her arms up to reach his shoulders. _I could tell him now_, Cana thought. _This could be the perfect moment to tell him…_ She looked up at him.

"You know," started Gildarts, looking down at the brunette. "You remind me of someone that I used to know…"

"R-Really? Who?"

Gildarts thought hard. "Eh, I can't remember."

_Yeah, I think I'll just tell him after the exams. _If_ I pass it_.

"But you know…" started the teacher, a smile spreading across his lips. "It's really amusing when a student has a crush on their teacher. I just think you could find someone your age who would be much better suited-"

"_I don't have a crush on you, you old man!_"

A few heads turned in their direction.

"Alright, alright," said Gildarts, letting out an amused chuckle. "But I'll have you know, your breath reeks of alcohol. Do you have any more?"

Cana rolled her eyes. "I'm not giving any to you. Your liver is so old that it probably wouldn't be able to take it."

"Ouch."

After the song ended, Lucy and Gray went back to their table to chat. The boys started talking about going camping sometime after winter ended while the girls talked about cute couples in the school.

"How did you and Laxus meet?" asked Lucy, looking over at Mirajane.

"He went to school here. He's a year older than me, so we didn't see each other around school too often. What brought us together was the Fairy Tail Guild. Makarov actually made him join, and then he and I were forced to participate in things together. He was mean to me, but it didn't stop me from being nice to him!"

"Almost the same thing with Jellal and Erza," said Levy. "But he is a year above Laxus."

Makarov came over to greet his grandson and fixed his tie. He then slapped Laxus's head and yelled, "What happened to visiting me, you idiot?"

"Watch it, old fart," said Laxus. "I've been busy with school work. I don't even have much time for Mirajane."

"It's true!" responded Mira with a pout. "But this problem will be fixed when I enroll at your university next year!"

"Hey, check it out," said Jellal, pointing to the entrance of the gym.

Lucy turned her head, as did many people in the room. Natsu and Lisanna stepped in. Lisanna got extensions so that her hair hung past her shoulders, and she had streaks of red in her white locks. She wore a tight, short red dress with red pumps, red earrings, and a black necklace. Her lips were bright red, and her eyeliner made her blue eyes stand out even more. Next to her, Natsu had the same, bright shade of red that Lisanna was wearing as his vest color. Instead of a tie, he wore a bow, though it was partially covered by his signature scarf. The two walked in like a power couple.

"Oh my…" sighed Mirajane as she rested her hands on her lips. "My sister is _beautiful_."

Noticing Lucy's hand clenched to the edge of her chair, Gray set his hand over hers and said, "Let's go dance."

Lucy nodded.

Natsu scanned the room, searching for a certain blonde woman. He spotted her at a table as Gray was pulling her up. His breath caught, and the same, jealous feeling that he felt from the best couple competition came back.

_I should be the one dancing with her, _he thought. Natsu looked over at Lisanna, feeling guilty. She was his date and not Lucy. It was the last time they were going to be each other's dates, after all. Natsu held out his hand and Lisanna took it and followed Natsu to the dance floor. The two got into the rhythm of things and forced away the negative thoughts they were having.

The lights dimmed and the music softened.

"Attention!" Came Makarov as he took the stage. "First of all, if you haven't noticed yet, there is a ballot box in the back where you can vote for your next winter king and queen. Second, I want you all to switch partners for this one slow song. You know, to mix it up a little. That is all!"

Lisanna turned when she felt her shoulder being tapped. It was Rogue, whom she had only met briefly during school hours. "May I have this dance?" he asked, holding out his hand.

Lisanna looked at Natsu, but saw he was already scanning the crowd. She turned back to Rogue, smiled, and took his hand.

"I guess you're going to find lover boy now, huh?" questioned Gray softly, eyeing Lucy's hickey.

"Y-Yeah," she responded, standing on her toes to look over heads.

"U-Um…" came a shy, female voice.

The two both turned to find Juvia looking at the ground. Her hair was straightened out and in a high ponytail. She wore a long blue one-shoulder dress that complimented her curvy figure perfectly.

"I-I know you might say no…but would you please dance with me?"

Lucy looked at Gray and made a face, signaling him to dance with her.

Gray sighed and took Juvia's hand softly. "Alright. Just this once, okay?"

Light shined in Juvia's eyes as she looked up, joyful. She looked at Lucy and mouthed a silent, "thank you," before leaving with Gray.

Lucy felt hands wrap around her waist and a warm body pressing against her back. She smiled, fully aware of whom it was.

"You look beautiful tonight," whispered Natsu.

Lucy turned around in his arms and rested her hands on his shoulders, smiling as they gently swayed. "You look really handsome. Who's Lisanna with?"

"I don't know." Natsu bent down and planted a quick kiss on his partner without anyone noticing.

Lucy blushed. "N-Natsu! That was dangerous!"

"So," Natsu whispered, leaning in by Lucy's ear. "What did Gray think about the mark?"

"How am I supposed to know…"

The two stayed wrapped in each other's arms, not even paying attention to the song being played. They just focused on the person in front of them, ignoring the world.

The pink haired man growled. "I can't fucking take this anymore."

Lucy pulled back, worried. "What is it, Natsu?"

A familiar impish smile appeared on Natsu's face as he took Lucy's hand and led her outside.

"Where are we going?" asked Lucy.

Instead of responding, Natsu looked over his shoulder, placing his finger to his lips. He led Lucy to the snow covered garden. The stone pathway was cleared, and the two stood under the moonlight.

Natsu took his jacket off and wrapped it around Lucy's shivering body. Instantly feeling the warmth, Lucy sighed in relief. "What are we doing out here?" she asked.

Natsu leaned in and pressed his warm lips against Lucy's. Now content that they had privacy, Lucy wrapped her arms around her partner and pulled his face in closer. Natsu grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to his body.

They hungrily tasted each other, letting their tongues battle for dominance. It wasn't until they heard a noise that they finally pulled away.

"Wh-What was that?" Inquired Lucy, blushing.

"Well, it wasn't a person, that's for sure," responded Natsu as he looked around. He looked back at Lucy and was mesmerized. Her skin and hair looked like they were glowing from the moon. Her cheeks were red, and her scarlet lips were partially open. Lucy's chest rose and fell quickly from the excitement of their kiss.

"Hey, Natsu…" started Lucy quietly. "I'm getting pretty cold…we should head back home, don't you think?"

Natsu blushed. Lucy's doe brown eyes were full of lust. "A-Are you sure?" He scratched the back of his head, nervous.

Lucy took his hand. "I'm sure."

"But what about everyone inside?"

"Don't worry about them. They'll know that we left together so they won't worry too much."

Natsu gave her a lopsided smile. "Alright. I'll give you a piggy back ride there, then."

"Wh-Why? I'm perfectly capable of walking home myself!"

"Well…you're wearing heels…"

Lucy paused for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, you're right. Turn around."

Natsu set Lucy down when they got to the house. He opened the door with the key and Lucy ran inside. "Loser!" she yelled before running towards the staircase, kicking her shoes off in the process.

Happy, surprised, jumped off the couch and hid underneath it.

"Hey!" yelled Natsu as he slammed the door shut and followed Lucy up the stairs. The two giggled like children as they raced to her room.

"I'm first!" Lucy exclaimed, standing at the center of her room.

Natsu walked in and shut the door. "Yeah, because you got a head start. We both know that I would have won if we started fairly."

Lucy stuck her tongue out before turning around. She blushed deeply as she looked at her bed. _Is this what I really want?_ From the reflection off the window, Lucy could see Natsu approach her with a lustful look in his eyes. He took the zipper from the back of Lucy's dress and slowly began to pull it down. _Yes. This is what I want. I love him._

Natsu reached the end of the zipper track and whispered, "I'll ask you this again before anything else happens…Are you sure you want this?"

Lucy turned around so that their eyes were locked with each other. "Yes," she whispered before softly kissing Natsu. She stepped out of her dress and watched as Natsu took off his vest, his scarf, and his bow. Throwing the articles of clothing onto the floor, he walked forward, forcing Lucy to walk back as he unbuttoned his shirt.

The blonde woman felt her leg hit the bed, so she sat down, not once breaking contact with Natsu. He threw his shirt to the floor, and, without thinking, Lucy started to undo the buckle on Natsu's belt. She paused.

"What's wrong?" asked Natsu, looking down at Lucy.

Lucy stood up and walked over to the light switch, becoming self-conscious of her body. "Th-This is going to be my first time…and I think I would feel better if we had the lights off. That is…if that's okay with you…"

Natsu pulled his belt off and tossed it to the side. "I want whatever is most comfortable for _you_."

"D-Do you have…the thing?"

Natsu laughed. "Laxus slipped a condom into my pocket. I'll thank him later." Lucy smiled as she flicked the switch off and found her way back to Natsu. The light of the moon that was shining through Lucy's window casted a dim glow in her room. She pushed Natsu onto the bed and was surprised that she had it in her to be so forward.

Lucy straddled him, feeling her partner's erection as she gazed down at Natsu. A piece of curly hair undid itself from Lucy's bun and fell onto her face. She paid no mind. Her heart was racing as she stared into Natsu's black eyes before leaning in for a kiss.

Lucy woke up to Natsu's sleeping face next to hers. She blushed, remembering the long night she had. In between her legs felt odd, but she welcomed the strange feeling. She was happy that she gave it to Natsu and not anyone else.

Lucy propped herself up on her elbow and looked at Natsu's scar, then remembered the story behind it. _He went through so much…just like me…_ She gently grazed her fingers over the mark, wishing she could will it away.

"Good morning," said Natsu.

Lucy quickly pulled her hand back and blushed. "M-Morning! I-I'll go make us some breakfast!"

Natsu pulled Lucy back down as she was about to get up. "No," he whined, cuddling up to her.

Lucy loosened up, feeling warm and comfortable in his arms. She then gasped.

"What?" asked Natsu, looking up at Lucy.

The blonde grabbed her phone that was resting underneath her pillow. When she turned it on, there were a plethora of messages and missed calls. Her friends kept texting her the other night, asking where her and Natsu were and if they were still going to go to the after party.

One message from Lucy caught her attention. "Levy said…You and Lisanna won winter king and queen…"

"Seriously?" questioned Natsu, sitting up. He looked at Lucy's pouting face and smiled. "I'm glad we left, then. What else happened?"

"Well…" Lucy opened up a picture of Cana, Laxus, Jellal, and Mirajane drunk at the karaoke bar. She opened a video that Cana sent. She couldn't understand the slurred words that the brunette said, but she turned the camera to Juvia and Gray singing a duet together. "At least those two are getting along better now," said Lucy as she put her phone down once the video ended.

Natsu fell back onto the bed, bringing Lucy with him. The two stared at each other in silence.

"Hey," whispered Natsu. "I love you, Lucy."

* * *

**I'm going to be honest here, I almost made a lemon. I literally paused and questioned if that would be a bad idea and I decided it would be. The guideline police would be out to get me! I had to go read the guideline for M fics and yeah...sorry guys. I'm a rule follower. I don't even know why I even changed this story to T but it is going back to M xD **

**Update: .3 made a good point. I guess this story is better off in the T section, but in the later chapters I really won't know what to do xD I guess we'll just cross that bridge when we get there, so please help me guys. I have troubles ordering a sandwich at Subway.**

**Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know how I'm doing ^^ **


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